The Department of Education (DepEd) is creating a special team to help students do better in school tests and improve the country’s poor showing in international exams.
Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara said the task force is needed to “modify local conditions” to help students perform better in these exams.
“One of our recommendations is to put up a Task Force for PISA exams specifically because we need to modify local conditions to be able to perform better in these exams,” Angara said during a post-SONA hybrid discussion on July 24.
The agency plans to change how public school teachers teach by adding more reading time during classes and focusing on science projects to prepare for the next Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test in 2025.
The Philippines ranked near the bottom in reading, math, and science among 81 countries in the 2022 PISA tests. It was also second to last in creative thinking.
Angara also wants to track student progress more closely to see if the new methods are working.
“We’re also going to craft some PISA-type quizzes and examinations to give to our students periodically because we need to monitor their progress, to see if the interventions we are providing are making an effect,” Angara said.
The education chief also wants to use more technology in schools to help students learn better, echoing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s intent in modernizing and digitalizing the country’s education system.
This includes giving students access to computers, smart TVs, and digital books.
“We need our students to be technologically savvy at the same time across the Philippines, we need to provide better inputs for our students,” Angara said.
