PH improve rank in int’l education assessment
Three years after ranking near the bottom of international learning assessments in 2022, the Philippines expanded its reach in 2025, surpassing 18 education systems in reading, 16 in mathematics, and 14 in science.
Based on the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) results, the Philippines, when ranked from the bottom, placed 15th in science, 17th in mathematics, and 19th in reading.
In the 2022 PISA results, the Philippines ranked sixth from the bottom in reading and mathematics and third from the bottom in science, out of 81 participating countries.
In response to the 2022 performance, the advocacy group Philippine Business for Education warned that the country’s education system was in its “worst state”.
This year, the Philippines obtained a mean score of 373 in science, 371 in mathematics, and 367 in reading, representing increases of 17, 16, and 20 points, respectively, from the country’s 2022 PISA results.
Data from OECD also showed that the Philippines is among the countries showing big changes between 2022 and 2025, with Georgia, Cambodia, Jordan, Montenegro, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkiye on top of the list.
The assessment, conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), aims to evaluate the academic performance of more than 760,000 students aged 15 across partner countries every three years.
Highest score since joining
Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Tuesday announced the marked improvement in the Philippines’ performance, with Filipino students achieving their highest Pisa scores to date in reading, mathematics, and science.
Angara presented the results during the national launch at Caloocan City Science High School, highlighting gains across all three subject areas as he cited the Marcos administration’s continuing efforts to improve the country’s learning outcomes.
“This is a significant achievement for our learners and for the entire Philippine education system,” Angara said.
“But more than the numbers, we are seeing evidence that our learners are capable of making real and meaningful progress,” he added. “We should be proud of how far our learners and teachers have come, but we should be even more determined about how much farther we can go.”
Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills, congratulated Filipino teachers and school leaders for the results, saying “what you have achieved in this latest round of OECD’s Pisa assessment is not just good news for the Philippines, it’s a story that deserves to be noticed far beyond your borders.”
The latest results show that the share of Filipino learners attaining Level 2 or higher, which is the baseline proficiency level under Pisa, has increased.
In science, the proportion rose from 23 percent to 32 percent; in mathematics, from 16 percent to 21 percent; and in reading, from 24 percent to 31 percent.
Bullying scores
However, Angara also noted that the Philippines recorded an increase in verbal and cyber bullying in schools compared to the 2022 Pisa results.
Based on the 2025 data, 33 percent of students claimed that other students made fun of them compared to the 22 percent reported in 2022.
Reports on the spread of rumors across students also increased from 15 percent to 19 percent in the latest assessment.
Reported experiences of physical bullying among Filipino students reflected only a one-percentage-point decrease from last year’s results, changing from 16 percent to 15 percent.
Meanwhile, reported threats between students remained at 19 percent in both the 2022 and 2025 PISA results.
‘On the right track’
In a statement, the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) hailed the latest Pisa results and said the country’s educational reforms were “on the right track” and “gaining momentum.”
“This progress belongs to the entire country,” the commission said, noting that “over the past three years, teachers, parents, civil society organizations, volunteers, legislators, local government units, and communities have come together to confront the learning crisis and support every Filipino child.”
“This step forward demonstrates what we can achieve when the nation works together with urgency, purpose, and resolve,” it added. —WITH A REPORT FROM SHERIDAN DELFINO
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