Public schools in Makati City outperformed regional and national averages in the 2023-2024 National Achievement Test (NAT) for Grade 6 students, according to the local government on Tuesday.

Based on a report from the Schools Division Office-Makati City (DepEd Makati), the city’s Mean Percentage Scores (MPS) in 21st Century Skills and five learning areas exceeded both the National Capital Region (NCR) and national MPS.

“We are elated with the city’s remarkable performance in the latest National Achievement Test,” Makati Mayor Abby Binay said. “It is heartening to see that all our efforts to provide the best education to our youth have translated to better academic and cognitive skills among our students.”

In 21st Century Skills, Makati scored 69.82 in Problem Solving, compared to 63.69 in NCR and 60.76 nationally. In Information Literacy, Makati scored 70.59, surpassing NCR’s 61.56 and the national 58.20. The city also scored 65.13 in Critical Thinking, above NCR’s 57.74 and the national 54.80.

In key learning areas, Makati logged 74.82 in English, higher than NCR’s 65.40 and the national 61.03. In Science, Makati earned 60.26, while NCR averaged 53.67 and the national 51.36.

Makati also scored 65.51 in Mathematics, surpassing NCR’s 56.44 and the national 53.34. In Filipino, Makati scored 72.27, higher than NCR’s 67.51 and the national 64.27. In Araling Panlipunan, the city scored 69.73, exceeding NCR’s 61.92 and the national 59.54.

Overall, Makati’s combined MPS in the NAT was 68.54, above NCR’s 61.02 and the national 57.94.

Binay said the city also performed well in the Early Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Assessment for Grade 3 students, achieving an overall MPS of 78.27, surpassing NCR’s 68.17 and the national 60.50.

In learning areas for Grade 3, Makati scored 80.77 in English, 80.38 in Filipino, and 67.92 in Numeracy, all exceeding regional and national averages.

Binay attributed the success to the city’s investments in education, including smart classrooms, free nutritious snacks, and custom-made sneakers for public school students.

“Our investments in education are well-thought-out because we want to ensure that every child, including those from poor families, is able to learn better and achieve their optimum potential,” Binay said.