MANILA: The Department of Education-National Capital Region (DepEd-NCR) on Tuesday emphasized the critical need for students to be familiar with the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to enhance their performance. During a briefing, regional authorities detailed strategies to achieve at least the minimum proficiency levels in future assessments.
According to Philippines News Agency, DepEd NCR Regional Director Jocelyn Andaya highlighted that familiarity with the test format and question types is vital for improving student preparedness and outcomes. “Familiarity with the said test is important, that’s the very first thing. The preparedness of our students, they should be familiarized with the sets of questions,” Andaya stated during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas briefing.
The DepEd-NCR, despite scoring higher than other regional offices in the 2022 PISA, acknowledges that their scores are still below the desired proficiency levels. “The 2022 PISA result shows that NCR’s scores are highe
r than average scores in the Philippines. Though this may look like an accomplishment to us, the fact remains that we are nowhere near the passing proficiency level,” Andaya explained.
To address this, NCR teachers are encouraged to integrate PISA-like questions into daily lessons across Schools Division Offices (SDOs). This strategy aims to train students to effectively handle such questions. Additionally, there is an emphasis on training for proper navigation of computers, which was identified as a challenge during the previous PISA.
The regional director also mentioned initiatives led by Secretary Sonny Angara to implement similar strategies across other regions, not just in NCR. In 2022, the Philippines ranked among the bottom 10 out of 81 participating countries in PISA in reading comprehension, mathematics, science, and second to the last in creative thinking.
Looking forward, the DepEd-NCR has set ambitious targets to improve educational outcomes within the next three years. These include efforts to
reduce learner drop-outs, enhance foundational skills, and provide extensive training for school heads and teachers on various educational competencies.
Moreover, the department is focused on creating learner-centered environments which include new classroom constructions and strengthened governance structures. Currently, the DepEd NCR oversees approximately 2.7 million learners enrolled in both public and private schools in the region for the school year 2024-2025.