Literacy group blames Philippines' reading comprehension rank on study materials
MANILA, Philippines — A representative from the Reading Association of the Philippines (RAP) said that the country's lackluster performance in the recent reading comprehension survey was indicative of other issues in education.
Asked why the country ranked last in the survey, RAP President Frederick Perez said on ANC's Early Edition, "I think we ranked at 79th because our students are more attuned and used to having encountered narrative texts."
Perez argued that Filipino youths likely had trouble identifying information coming from these sources because of their lack of exposure to them.
"The texts [in the PISA examination] are mainly informational. The evaluation of the text and understanding revolved on informational text," he explained.
"I think our students are really more exposed to narratives even in high school, so that is the reason for the scores, I think."
For him, more "regular" texts would come in the form of news articles, argumentative essays, graphs and the like, rather than what is normally provided in schools today.
The country's affiliate of the International Literacy Association also said that socio-economic factors came into play, particularly in the pronounced lack of educational materials especially in the remote areas of the archipelago.
"Our students should actually be trained from Grade 4 to expository and informational text, but I think the dearth of materials we have in school is also a factor," he said.
"Maybe one reason is connectivity in the far-flung areas. There's no internet, books are mainly children's books, and there are no encyclopedias and other digital texts."
A 2016 report published by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center identifies "insufficient instructional materials" as among the decades-long issues that hamper the growth of Philippine education.
"Reading ability is developed through practice," Perez argued.
"We can only develop fluent readers if we provide them with texts, print and digital, and that we practice them through teacher modelling shared practice towards independent practice."
The aforementioned report went on to say that textbooks and modules ranked third in a "wish list" based off survey responses from government officials and community leaders.
And the lack of textbooks is but one of many manifestations of poverty in the education sector. Teacher groups have long been asserting the need for a substantial pay hike from the administration, citing that their current circumstances were no longer sufficient in providing for their needs and those of their families.
In a survey of 79 countries conducted by the Programme for International Student Assessment, the Philippines ranked dead last in reading comprehension and second-lowest for both mathematics and science, scoring well below average in all three categories.
Although also careful to point out that it was the first time the Philippines had entered into PISA in 2018, the Department of Education has since acknowledged the country's dismal performance in the international poll and has vowed to improve their education services.
“The PISA results, along with our own assessments and studies, will aid in policy formulation, planning, and programming,” the department said in a statement.
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