Pinoy students lag behind in writing, math, reading comprehension study says

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that based from a Southeast Asia-wide study, learning outcomes of Grade 5 students showed that a large number of Filipino learners are not proficient enough in reading, writing and math to advance to secondary school.

Results of the 2019 study, titled Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), revealed only 10% of Filipino learners have developed proficiency in reading, 17% in mathematics and only 1% in writing.

The SEA-PLM 2019 was conducted by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Six countries participated in the pen-and-paper large scale assessment. In the Philippines, there were 6,083 participants for this study.

According to Gatchalian, the results of this study reinforced the findings of the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which showed that out of 79 countries, the Philippines ranked lowest in Reading Comprehension and second lowest in Science and Mathematics.

Lumalabas sa resulta ng SEA-PLM na lalo tayong dapat magsulong at magpatupad ng mga reporma sa ating sistema ng edukasyon---mula sa guro hanggang sa ating curriculum---upang masigurong natututo ang ating mga mag-aaral. Bagama't nasa kalagitnaan tayo ng krisis dahil sa pandemya ng COVID-19, lalo nating dapat isagawa ang mga repormang ito upang hindi lalong mapag-iwanan ang ating mga mag-aaral,

said Gatchalian.

This reiterates the urgency of rolling out basic education curriculum reforms that would boost Filipino learners' basic competencies he added.

As part of its national reform program Sulong EduKalidad, the Department of Education (DepEd) is currently implementing a streamlined curriculum under the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELCs) because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DepEd, however, is still conducting its curriculum review, which will be completed by 2021.