DepEd advised against taking int’l assessment next year

CNN Philippines’ Gerg Cahiles contributed to this report.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 13) — The Philippines should not participate in next year’s Programme for International Student Assessment pending the implementation of reforms in the Department of Education, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said Thursday.

In 2018, the country ranked the lowest in reading comprehension and second lowest in science and mathematics among 79 countries in the global survey done by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to assess 15-year-old students.

Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate basic education committee which conducted a hearing on the results of the PISA, suggests studying the 2021 PISA first and taking the next one in 2024. The test is given every three years.

“Dahil nag-uumpisa pa lang ang mga reporma na dapat nating gawin, umpisa doon ang curriculum reform at teachers’ training, it will take time,” Gatchalian, said.

[Translation: Becuase the reforms are just being implemented, including the curriculum reform and teachers’ training, it will take time.]

He explained that an enhanced curriculum will be enforced starting June, leaving students less than a year to adapt if they would take the upcoming PISA. He noted that taking the assessment would cost the country millions.

“One PISA exam is one million dollars o P50 million kaya hindi mura ang PISA. Kung kaya’t kung hindi tayo gumawa ng reporma, siguradong ang resulta ng PISA next year ay pareho lang sa nakita natin last year,” Gatchalian stressed.

[Translation: One PISA exam is $1 million or P50 million so it’s not cheap. If we don’t create reforms, the results would be the same as last year’s.]

Gatchalian said DepEd officials are evaluating if the country would join the next PISA or not.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones previously said the government failed to spend portions of its gross domestic product for education, a factor which may have caused the Philippines to lag behind other countries in the 2018 survey.The Philippines took part in the PISA for the first time that year to establish the country’s baseline in relation to global standards and benchmark the effectiveness of educational reforms, DepEd has said.

READ: DepEd: Low gov’t spending, lack in teacher training behind low PH ranking in PISA