Edcom 2: K-10 reading levels improve under Aral program
Just months after it was introduced by the Department of Education (DepEd), the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (Aral) program has been shown to significantly improve the reading proficiency and grade-level readiness of grade school students, underscoring the importance of targeted interventions for learners.
The Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) made the observation in a statement on Sunday, citing data comparing student performance at the start of the school year in 2025 to mid-school year.
Edcom noted that through the Aral program, students from several schools across the country were able to successfully transition from “emerging or lower-level proficiency” in reading to “grade-ready status.”
The program launched in September 2025 aims to help struggling kindergarten to Grade 10 students attain the competencies set by DepEd in their respective levels, particularly in reading, math and science.
This is done by providing them free, targeted interventions, tutorials and resources designed in consultation with learning experts.
Proficiency classifications
Based on assessments, a student’s proficiency in a particular subject area is classified as either emerging, developing, transitioning, or grade-level status.
In reading, for example, a learner with an emerging proficiency has limited phonological awareness and needs targeted instruction to build foundational skills. On the other hand, those with grade-level proficiency demonstrate strong letter knowledge and decoding skills.
Among students from Grades 1 to 3, Malanday Elementary School in Marikina City showed the most significant improvement with a 36.77-percent increase in the number of learners categorized as “developing, transitioning, and grade-level ready” when it came to reading.
By the middle of the school year, 94.03 percent of its students were considered grade-level ready, compared to 57.26 percent at the beginning of the school year.
Another school that did well was Don Gregorio Evangelista Memorial School in Zamboanga City, where the reading readiness numbers rose by 19.06 percent.
Other top performers were Mamatid Elementary in Cabuyao City, Laguna, and Juan Sumulong Elementary School in Antipolo City, Rizal.
Fully grade-ready
Among Grades 4 to 6 students, Melencio M. Castelo Elementary School in Quezon City improved the most as it recorded a “remarkable milestone.” This was after all of its students (100 percent) were considered “total grade-ready + 2-levels down,” up by 30 percent at the start of the school year.
This was also the case with San Jose National High School in Antipolo City which was the top performer among students from Grades 7 to 10.
It posted a 100 percent reading readiness, up from 61.70 percent at the beginning of the school year. Tanza National Comprehensive High School in Cavite also demonstrated significant growth with a 42.85-percent increase in readiness.
According to Edcom 2 Executive Director Karol Mark Yee, the improvement in the students’ performance “proves that with the right interventions, we can successfully bridge the gap from ‘emerging’ to ‘grade-ready.’”
“This demonstrates clearly that we have the capacity to put an end to this learning crisis—if we act urgently, learn how to prioritize, and invest properly,” he said in the statement.
DepEd earlier reported that reading readiness scores went up by around five points among 3.42 million Grades 3 to 6 students and from six to nine points among 1.72 million Grades 7 to 10 students, bringing them closer to grade-level proficiency.
For the next school year, DepEd aims to reach 6.7 million students through the Aral program and deploy 440,000 tutors, including external volunteers, to reduce the workload of regular teachers.
