The Department of Education (DepEd) acknowledged a broader breakdown in learning outcomes after data showed that the overwhelming majority of senior high school students are unable to read and comprehend texts on their own.

DepEd Undersecretary for Learning Systems Carmela Oracion said the agency recognizes the alarming findings earlier reported by the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), which showed that only about 12 percent of Grade 11 learners possess the reading comprehension skills expected of their grade level.

“I want to say that 87 is no small number,” Oracion said, referring to the proportion of Grade 11 students classified as non-independent readers. “I’d like to state very clearly that DepEd recognizes that this is very serious.”

The assessment, conducted in March among approximately 1.4 million Grade 11 students, found that roughly 1.3 million learners fall under either the instructional or frustration reading levels, meaning they require varying degrees of assistance to understand texts.

Only 12.58 percent were considered independent readers.

Oracion stressed that the problem did not originate in senior high school but reflects learning deficits accumulated throughout a learner’s schooling.

“When a Grade 11 learner struggles to read independently, it signals that the problem did not start in senior high school,” she said. “This is a cumulative gap that has come about over a period of time.”

Oracion said the findings should be viewed within the broader context of poverty, unequal access to learning resources, disruptions in classroom instruction, and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which severely affected foundational learning among schoolchildren.

Systemic weaknesses

She noted that many Filipino students enter school with disadvantages that extend beyond the classroom, including limited exposure to books and educational materials at home.

Oracion also conceded that the assessment results point to systemic weaknesses in Philippine education.