BELIEVE it or not only one public school in Metro Manila passed the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 global comprehension survey.

Yes, only one public school in Metro Manila hurdled the minimum proficiency level as confirmed by a Department of Education official on Wednesday (07 Feb 2024) during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Basic Education.

Jocelyn Andaya, the DepEd National Capital Region director, disclosed that Benigno S. Aquino High School in Makati City was the sole public school from Metro Manila to achieve this milestone among all participating institutions.

Andaya further noted that besides Benigno S. Aquino High School, five additional schools met the assessment’s standards, but they were all private institutions.

“In NCR, there was just one from the public [schools] of the 21 [that participated in PISA]… It’s Benigno Aquino [High School],” she stated.

The 2022 PISA, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, covered subjects such as reading, mathematics, and science, along with an evaluation of students’ critical thinking and financial literacy skills, with a primary emphasis on mathematics.

Senator Win Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Basic Education, emphasized the importance of utilizing the PISA results to develop solutions for the challenges within the Philippine education system.

“How do we go up? How do we implement solutions so that we will improve learner performance?” questioned Gatchalian.

Meanwhile, Senator Nancy Binay advocated for a reevaluation of teaching methodologies, proposing a shift towards practical applications of lessons rather than mere memorization.

“It’s difficult to break old habits. The big question is how do we teach our new teachers? Maybe it’s time to revisit and change the curriculum on how we are teaching our teachers as well,” remarked Binay.

The Philippines ranked as the sixth lowest among the 81 countries and economies participating in the 2022 PISA, with Filipino learners demonstrating continued struggles in mathematics and reading comprehension.

According to the 2022 PISA report, 7,193 students from 188 schools in the Philippines completed assessments in mathematics, reading, or science, representing approximately 1,782,900 individual 15-year-old students, equivalent to an estimated 83% of the total population of 15-year-olds.