Filipino Grade 4 students worst in math and science proficiency

A recent conducted international study shows that grade 4 students in the country are the worst in mathematics and science proficiency.

This study showed that the Philippines was the worst-performing country among 58 countries in the field of mathematics and science proficiency. Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMS0S) gave the country the scores of 297 and 249 which are the lowest.

The study revealed that merely 1% of Filipinos had high proficiency in mathematics. This meant only a small percentage of 4th graders can apply conceptual understanding to solve problems.

Due to the Philippines’ own laws, the Department of Education must have the biggest budget among government offices. In fact, despite the ongoing pandemic, DepEd still had a higher budget than the Department of Health for 2021.

However, even with the Education Department having the biggest funds, the Philippines still manages to be dead last when it comes to science and math. According to an article from CNN, The 2019 edition of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) conducted a study on our country.

As per the article, about 6 percent of Filipino students reached the international benchmarks for mathematics. Meanwhile, 19 percent of the students finished with the low benchmark showing “some basic mathematical knowledge”.

Meanwhile, 13 percent of Filipino students were part of the low benchmark. This meant that “students showed limited understanding of scientific concepts and limited knowledge of foundational science facts.”