MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines continues to have Grade 5 students who exhibit “very low proficiency” in reading and mathematics, according to a learning assessment program conducted in Southeast Asia (SEA).

Based on the 2024 SEA Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM) by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), 27% of Grade 5 students in the Philippines have “very low proficiency” in reading, and 16% also have “very low proficiency” in mathematics.

In reading, 27% of Grade 5 students were in Proficiency Band 2 and below, indicating that learners in this band – and possibly below it – “are typically able to match 1 of 4 given words to an illustration of a familiar object, place, or symbol, where the task is simple, direct, and repetitive.”

The remaining percentages in reading literacy are:

• 25% in Proficiency Band 3: students are able to read a range of everyday texts fluently and begin to engage with their meaning
• 21% in Proficiency Band 4: students are able to understand simple texts
• 13% in Proficiency Band 5: students are able to make connections to understand key ideas
• 14% in Proficiency Band 6 and above: students are able to understand texts with familiar structures and manage competing information

Compared to the 2019 record, 27% were also in Proficiency Band 2 and below; 29% in Band 3; 22% in Band 4; 12% in Band 5; and 10% in Band 6 and above.

“In the Philippines, the proportion of students in the higher bands increased while the proportion in the lowest bands remained unchanged, indicating a wider dispersion of scores and suggesting increased inequality in learning opportunities,” showed the report.

In mathematics, 16% of Grade 5 learners in the country were in Proficiency Band 2 and below, which means “some children might be able to add single-digit numbers together; others might only be able to count a small collection of objects or recognize numbers.”

The following are other percentages in mathematics literacy:

• 17% in Proficiency Band 3: students are able to understand place value and scales of measurement
• 21% in Proficiency Band 4: students are able to apply number properties and units of measurement
• 20% in Proficiency Band 5: students are able to fluently solve arithmetic problems
• 14% in Proficiency Band 6: students are able to perform mathematical operations, including with fractions, and interpret tables and graphs
• 8% in Proficiency Band 7: students are able to apply fractions and percentages and analyse data representations
• 3% in Proficiency Band 8: students are able to think multiplicatively and convert between units
• Less than 2% in Proficiency Band 9 and above: students are able to reason about triangles and solve problems using frequency distributions.

Based on the 2019 mathematics literacy, 18% were in Band 2; 23% in Band 3; 24% in Band 4; 18% in Band 5; 11% in Band 6; 5% in Band 7; less than 2% each in Band 8 and Band 9 and above.

“In two countries (Lao PDR and the Philippines) the average performance increased, with almost no change in the proportion of low performers between the 2019 and 2024 cohorts,” the report noted.

The SEA-PLM also checked whether Grade 5 students in the bottom bands struggled with reading only, mathematics only, or in both domains.

Figures showed that 14% have “very low proficiency” in reading only, 2% in math only, and 13% in both reading and mathematics.

The report said among the factors that affect literacy include socioeconomic status, linguistic background, school location, and textbook availability.

Aside from the Philippines, the SEA-PLM report also looked into the reading and mathematics literacy of Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

Across the region, data showed “mixed progress” in which “reading skills have stagnated” while mathematics skills “have improved.” – Rappler.com