Teachers say evaluation based on students’ scores can do more harm than good
A teachers’ group opposed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s proposal to evaluate teachers based on students’ test scores, warning it could unfairly penalize educators for long-standing resource gaps that also drive the education crisis.
Responding to Marcos’ recent remarks on his podcast, the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC) said that while incorporating test outcomes into teacher assessments is not inherently flawed, doing so without first addressing overcrowded classrooms, inadequate learning tools and overworked faculty is “grossly unfair.”
“Hindi naman masama kung isama ang test results sa batayan ng performance ng mga guro, pero unahin natin ang mga kailangang ayusin. Classrooms, sapat na kagamitan, hindi siksikan ang mga bata at hindi sila gutom sa pagpasok sa school. Pinakamahalaga, hindi kinukuba sa trabaho ang mga guro at dapat may sapat na sahod at benepisyo (It’s not wrong to consider test results, but fix the classrooms, provide resources, reduce class sizes, feed hungry students. Most of all, don’t overburden teachers and provide adequate salary and benefits,” said TDC Chairperson Benjo Basas in a statement.
“Sa ngayon nga, mga guro na ang nag-aabono sa kakulangan ng gobyerno. Sa Brigada, repair and maintenance sa classroom, sa reading materials ng mga bata at kung minsan nga pati pa pang-recess (As of now, teachers are the ones paying and making up for the gaps of the government like the Brigada Eskwela, repairs and maintenance for classrooms, in reading materials of the learners and even sometimes for the children’s snacks,)” Basas said.
The President criticized the existing performance audit system for allegedly encouraging mass promotion of students regardless of actual learning. He said this incentivizes teachers to pass even those who struggle with basic literacy, and announced a shift toward test-based evaluations instead.
TDC has long pushed for the reinstatement of the older Performance Appraisal System for Teachers (PAST), which it described as simpler, more objective and rooted in real classroom progress.
Furthermore, the current Results-Based Performance Management System and its transitional replacement, Performance Management and Evaluation System (PMES), are “needlessly complex and detached from actual teaching conditions,” the group said.
