MANILA — The results of the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) showed the “resiliency” of the Philippine education system amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Wednesday.

PISA data revealed that while the scores garnered by the Philippines in math, reading and science were all below the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) global averages, the results were just “about the same” as in 2018 when the country first participated in PISA.

“Positive ng performance natin in the sense na many other countries, OECD countries fell, iyong performance nila talagang bumaba, hindi ba? Ang Pilipinas hindi bumaba ang performance natin except one point sa science which is not statistically significant. So namaintain natin iyong performance natin before the pandemic and that shows na stable ang performance natin at resilient ang ating education system,” DepEd Undersecretary for Curriculum and Teaching Gina Gonong said in a press conference.

DepEd Spokesperson Atty Michael Poa also added that learning interventions by DepEd during the pandemic proved to be “effective” as it did not “worsen the situation”.

“Iyong other delivery modes, iyong bata nasa bahay pero nag aaral sila ay nakita naman natin na naging effective to the point na hindi naman nag worsen but bakit hindi nag improve because definitely iyong mga reforms at interventions noong 2018 PISA ay hindi magawa because of the pandemic,” Poa said.

In the 2022 PISA, Philippines ranked 76 out of 81 countries and economies when it comes to proficiency of students in math.

Students aged 15 years old who participated in the tests garnered 355 points, far behind the global average score of 472 pegged by the OECD.

In science, Philippines placed third from the last of the list with a score of 356, which is way below the OECD average of 485.

In reading, from the OECD average of 476, the Philippines scored 347 points, placing itself in 6th from the bottom of all participating countries and economies.

Singapore scored significantly higher than all other countries in mathematics with 575 points, reading with 543 points and science with 561 points.

The study is carried out every three years by the OECD to explore how well students can solve complex problems, think critically, and communicate effectively.

It also gives insights as to how the countries’ educational systems prepare students for real life challenges and future success.

In 2022, 7,193 Filipino students from 188 schools completed the assessment, which involved two hour-long tests each devoted to one subject.

Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said PISA provided DepEd with “invaluable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of our education system.

“The PISA results may bear uncomfortable truth. It has shown that a significant majority of our boys and girls fall below the proficiency level required for full participation in society and contributing to nation-building,” she said in a video message.

DepEd stressed that it already initiated reforms in the educational system, including the revision of the curriculum for kindergarten to grade 10.

But it admitted that it might take some time before the results become evident in the learning outcomes of students.

“We aim to be a top performer but when it happens iyon ang tanong. (JC) usually ang impact niyan ay hindi naman ganoon kabilis. So siguro makapantay tayo doon sa ibang Asian countries na Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia I think it is more realistic in the coming years, maybe 2029," Gonong said.