PH’s poor performance in global reading comprehension exam proves failure of K-12, says solon

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ poor performance in the literacy assessment of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development proves the failure of the government’s K to 12 program, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said Wednesday.

Of the 79 countries that participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018, the Philippines scored the lowest in reading comprehension and placed the second-lowest in mathematics and science.

Castro, a former educator, said the result of the assessment should be a wake-up call for the Department of Education.

“The results of the 2018 PISA only prove that the K to 12 system did not enhance the quality of basic education in our country,” she said in a statement.

“How can we expect to perform in assessment tests if the government continues to turn a blind eye on the perennial problems of shortages in the basic education system?” the opposition lawmaker asked.

The K to 12 program’s implementation gradually started in 2013, and its first batch of graduates finished senior high school in March 2018. The new scheme, however, brought with it persisting problems such as shortages in schools and classrooms, other learning facilities, textbooks, learning modules, and other instructional materials, said Castro.

“The budget for the K to 12 program has been increasing every year without addressing perennial problems of shortages in classrooms, learning materials, teachers, education support personnel, among others,” the party-list representative added.

Speaker Alan Cayetano earlier said the chamber would review the efficiency of the program.

Education Sec. Leonor Briones, meanwhile, said they would use the PISA results as a starting point of the possible revisions in the K to 12 curriculum.