Romulo: Mastery of basic literacy will improve PISA score

Filipino students will only improve their Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) second-worst ranking in terms of creative thinking if they first master basic functional literacy, including reading comprehension, House Basic Education Committee Chairperson and Pasig lawmaker Roman Romulo said Friday.

“The context is, this is not a new test. It was a 2022  test. And if students can’t master basic functional literacy, how can they level up to higher competencies?" asked Romulo, who was reacting to the  2022 PISA report which showed that the Philippines scored an average of 14 points in creative thinking, a score that is second to the lowest next to Albania’s 13  mean score.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member countries, covered by the PISA test, averaged 33 points.

"The basic requirement here is reading comprehension, and our students scored low in the 2018 and 2022  PISA exam on reading comprehension,” Romulo said during a Bagong  Pilipinas forum.

“That is why under the [DepEd's] Matatag  Curriculum, we reduced the subjects, reduced the competencies so the teachers could focus on basic functional literacy: reading comprehension, age-appropriate math, and science. This situation is what we really need to... and the Matatag curriculum wants to address. If we are able to enable mastery of these, higher competencies like Creative Thinking will follow. Aakyat rin po ang scores natin,” Romulo added.

(Our scores will improve.)

Furthermore, Romulo said there was a need for the upskilling of teachers and tailoring the approach per school.

“DepEd cannot go on a one-size-fits-all policy. Suggestions should come from the ground. We should ask the teachers what they need so they can teach more effectively. Because that could vary per school,” added the Pasig representative.

“The fact still remains that in reading comprehension, age-appropriate math, and science, we posted low scores, and these are basic competencies. So, iyon talaga dapat i-trabaho natin,” Romulo added.

(That is really what  we need to work on.)

The PISA results on creative thinking came out on the same day that Vice President  Sara Duterte resigned as DepEd secretary. The Vice President, whose resignation as secretary will take effect on July 19, said she stepped down from her post out of concern for teachers and learners. 

“Bagama’t hindi ako magpapatuloy na mamamahala sa  kagawaran, patuloy pa rin nating itataguyod ang kalidad ng edukasyon na  nararapat para sa Pilipino,” she added.

(Although I will not  continue heading the department, I will continue to promote the quality education that Filipinos deserve.) — DVM, GMA Integrated News