MANILA, Philippines — A progressive lawmaker has scored the Department of Education (DepEd) for the dismal ratings of Filipino students in an international assessment for mathematics and science.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said the DepEd could not blame previous leaders for the “significantly lower” scores in the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS).
“We attribute this to the DepEd because of its lapses and incompetence, and they should not blame the teachers because they are making up for the DepEd’s shortcomings,” she said.
Castro made the remarks after Filipino students ranked lowest among 58 countries in the TIMMS, which assessed mathematics and science competency among Grade 4 students.
The Philippines scored 297 in mathematics and 249 in science, which were “significantly lower” compared to other participating countries.
Other countries at the bottom five of the TIMMS were Morocco, Kuwait, South Africa, and Pakistan.