PISA

PISA 2022 Results

Factsheets

Philippines

PUBE
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Philippines

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-
year-old students in mathematics, reading and science. The tests explore how well students can solve
complex problems, think critically and communicate effectively. This gives insights into how well education
systems are preparing students for real life challenges and future success. The Philippines participated for
the first time in PISA in 2018. By comparing results internationally, policy makers and educators in the
Philippines can learn from other countries’ policies and practices.

How well did 15-year-old students in the Philippines do on the test?

Trends in mathematics, reading and science performance

Figure 1. Trends in performance in mathematics, reading and science

Note: White dots indicate mean-performance estimates that are not statistically significantly above/below PISA 2022 estimates. Black lines
indicate the best-fitting trend. An interactive version of this figure is available at https://oecdch.art/a40de1dbaf/C266.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.5.4, I.B1.5.5 and I.B1.5.6.

• Average 2022 results were about the same as in 2018 in mathematics, reading and science.
• Over the most recent period (2018 to 2022), the gap between the highest-scoring students
(10% with the highest scores) and the weakest students (10% with the lowest scores) narrowed in
mathematics, while it did not change significantly in reading and science. In mathematics, low-
achievers became stronger, while performance did not change significantly amongst high-
achievers.

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• Compared to 2018 the proportion of students scoring below a baseline level of proficiency (Level 2)
did not change significantly in mathematics, reading and science.

How does the Philippines compare?

Figure 2. Mean performance in mathematics, reading and science in PISA 2022

Philippines, OECD average and selected comparison countries

Notes: Comparison countries include the six highest-performing countries in each subject and the five countries with the largest population of
15-year-old students.
Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with mean estimates (the 95% confidence
interval).
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.2.1, I.B1.2.2 and I.B1.2.3.

• Students in the Philippines scored less than the OECD average in mathematics, reading and
science.
• A smaller proportion of students in the Philippines, than on average across OECD countries, were
top performers (Level 5 or 6) in at least one subject. At the same time a smaller proportion of
students than on average across OECD countries achieved a minimum level of proficiency (Level
2 or higher) in all three subjects.

What students know and can do in mathematics

• In the Philippines, 16% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, significantly
less than on average across OECD countries (OECD average: 69%). At a minimum, these students
can interpret and recognize, without direct instructions, how a simple situation can be represented
mathematically (e.g. comparing the total distance across two alternative routes, or converting
prices into a different currency). Over 85% of students in Singapore, Macao (China), Japan, Hong
Kong (China)*, Chinese Taipei and Estonia (in descending order of that share) performed at this
level or above.
• Almost no students in the Philippines were top performers in mathematics, meaning that they
attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA mathematics test (OECD average: 9%). Six Asian countries and
economies had the largest shares of students who did so: Singapore (41%), Chinese Taipei (32%),
Macao (China) (29%), Hong Kong (China)* (27%), Japan (23%) and Korea (23%). At these levels,

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students can model complex situations mathematically, and can select, compare and evaluate
appropriate problem-solving strategies for dealing with them. Only in 16 out of 81 countries and
economies participating in PISA 2022 did more than 10% of students attain Level 5 or 6 proficiency.

Figure 3. Top performers and low-performing students in mathematics, reading and science

Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.3.1, I.B1.3.2 and I.B1.3.3.

What students know and can do in reading

• Some 24% of students in the Philippines attained Level 2 or higher in reading (OECD average:
74%). At a minimum, these students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find
information based on explicit, though sometimes complex criteria, and can reflect on the purpose
and form of texts when explicitly directed to do so. The share of 15-year-old students who attained
minimum levels of proficiency in reading (Level 2 or higher) varied from 89% in Singapore to 8%
in Cambodia.
• In the Philippines, almost no students scored at Level 5 or higher in reading (OECD average: 7%).
These students can comprehend lengthy texts, deal with concepts that are abstract or
counterintuitive, and establish distinctions between fact and opinion, based on implicit cues
pertaining to the content or source of the information.

What students know and can do in science

• Some 23% of students in the Philippines attained Level 2 or higher in science (OECD average:
76%). At a minimum, these students can recognize the correct explanation for familiar scientific
phenomena and can use such knowledge to identify, in simple cases, whether a conclusion is valid
based on the data provided.
• In the Philippines, almost no students were top performers in science, meaning that they were
proficient at Level 5 or 6 (OECD average: 7%). These students can creatively and autonomously
apply their knowledge of and about science to a wide variety of situations, including unfamiliar
ones.

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A special edition of PISA

This PISA test was originally due to be conducted in 2021 but was delayed by one year because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. The exceptional circumstances throughout this period, including lockdowns and
school closures in many countries, led to occasional difficulties in collecting some data. While the vast
majority of countries and economies met PISA’s technical standards, a small number did not. A country
or economy in this note with an asterisk (*) next to its name means that caution is required when
interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not reached. Further
information can be found in the Reader’s Guide and in Annexes A2 and A4 of the main report.
In the Philippines, all data met the quality standards set by PISA and were considered fit for reporting.

Performance gaps within the Philippines

Socio-economic divides

Figure 4. Mean performance in mathematics, by international quintiles of socio-economic status

Note: The size of markers is proportional to the share of the student population within each quintile of socio-economic status (as determined by
the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status, ESCS). Quintiles are defined at the international level, to include 20% of PISA participants
in each quintile; within each national sample, the proportion can therefore differ from 20%.
Vertical bars that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with each estimate (the 95% confidence interval).
Horizontal, dashed lines represent the uncertainty associated with the mean score of the largest group of students (as defined by international
quintiles) within the Philippines.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables I.B1.4.6 and I.B1.4.8.

• The PISA index of economic, social and cultural status is computed in such a way that all students
taking the PISA test, regardless of the country where they live, can be placed on the same socio-
economic scale. This means that it is possible to use this index to compare the performance of
students of similar socio-economic background in different countries. In the Philippines, 36% of
students (the largest share) were in the bottom international quintile of the socio-economic scale,
meaning that they were among the most disadvantaged students who took the PISA test in 2022.

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Their average score in mathematics was 344 score points. In Türkiye and Viet Nam, students of
similar socio-economic background tend to score significantly higher.
• The PISA index of economic, social and cultural status can also be used to order students from
the most disadvantaged to the most advantaged within each country and economy, and to create
four groups of students of equal size (each comprising 25% of the population of 15-year-old
students in each country/economy). In the Philippines socio-economically advantaged students
(the top 25% in terms of socio-economic status) outperformed disadvantaged students (the bottom
25%) by 36 score points in mathematics. This is smaller than the average difference between the
two groups (93 score points) across OECD countries.
• Between 2018 and 2022, the gap in mathematics performance between the top and the bottom
25% of students in terms of socio-economic status narrowed in the Philippines, while the average
gap across OECD countries remained stable.
• Socio-economic status was a predictor of performance in mathematics in all PISA participating
countries and economies. It accounted for 5% of the variation in mathematics performance in PISA
2022 in the Philippines (compared to 15% on average across OECD countries).
• Some 12% of disadvantaged students in the Philippines were able to score in the top quarter of
mathematics performance. These students can be considered academically resilient because,
despite their socio-economic disadvantage, they have attained educational excellence by
comparison with students in their own country. On average across OECD countries, 10% of
disadvantaged students scored in the top quarter of mathematics performance in their own
countries.

Gender differences in performance

• Girls outperformed boys in mathematics by 14 score points and in reading by 35 score points in
the Philippines. Globally, in mathematics, boys outperformed girls in 40 countries and economies,
girls outperformed boys in another 17 countries or economies, and no significant difference was
found in the remaining 24. In reading, girls, on average, scored above boys in all but two countries
and economies that participated in PISA 2022 (79 out of 81).
• In the Philippines, the share of low performers is larger among boys (86%) than among girls (82%)
in mathematics; in reading, too, the share is larger among boys (71% of girls and 82% of boys
scored below Level 2 in reading).
• Between 2018 and 2022, performance in mathematics remained stable both among boys and girls
in the Philippines.

How is school life in the Philippines?

Students’ sense of belonging at school and satisfaction with life

• In 2022, 83% of students in the Philippines reported that they make friends easily at school (OECD
average: 76%) and 84% felt that they belong at school (OECD average: 75%). Meanwhile, 28%
reported feeling lonely at school, and 28% like an outsider or left out of things at school (OECD
average: 16% and 17%). Compared to 2018, students’ sense of belonging at school declined in
the Philippines.
• Students’ satisfaction with life, more generally, declined in many countries and economies over
recent years. In 2022, 17% of students in the Philippines reported that they were not satisfied with
their lives: they rated their satisfaction with life between 0 and 4 on a scale ranging from 0 to 10. In
2018, fewer students were not satisfied with life (14%). On average across OECD countries, the

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proportion of students who are not satisfied with life increased from 11% in 2015 to 16% in 2018
and 18% in 2022.

Figure 5. Students’ sense of belonging at school

Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table II.B1.1.4.

Support and discipline in mathematics lessons

• In the Philippines, 79% of students reported that, in most mathematics lessons, the teacher shows
an interest in every student’s learning (OECD average: 63%), and 81% that the teacher gives extra
help when students need it (OECD average: 70%).
• Many students study mathematics in a disciplinary climate that is not favourable to learning: in
2022, about 26% of students in the Philippines reported that they cannot work well in most or all
lessons (OECD average: 23%); 29% of students do not listen to what the teacher says (OECD
average: 30%); 41% of students get distracted using digital devices (OECD average: 30%); and
37% get distracted by other students who are using digital devices (OECD average: 25%). On
average across OECD countries, students were less likely to report getting distracted using digital
devices when the use of cell phones on school premises is banned.

Feeling safe at and around school

• PISA 2022 data show that in education systems where performance remained high and students’
sense of belonging improved, students tended to feel safer and less exposed to bullying and other
risks at their school.
• In the Philippines, 8% of students reported not feeling safe on their way to school (OECD average:
8%); 8% of students reported not feeling safe in their classrooms at school (OECD average: 7%);
19% of students reported not feeling safe at other places at school (e.g. hallway, cafeteria,
restroom) (OECD average: 10%).
• Some 43% of girls and 53% of boys reported being the victim of bullying acts at least a few times
a month (OECD average: 20% of girls and 21% of boys). On average across OECD countries,
fewer students were exposed to bullying in 2022 compared to 2018: for example, only 7% of
students reported that other students spread nasty rumours about them in 2022, compared to 11%

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in 2018. In the Philippines, too, the corresponding proportions shrank (15% in 2022 compared to
32% in 2018).

Parental involvement in learning

• PISA data collected from school principals show that the percentage of parents who were involved
in school and learning decreased substantially between 2018 and 2022 in many
countries/economies. This was not the case in the Philippines. In 2022, 63% of students in the
Philippines were in schools whose principal reported that during the previous academic year at
least half of all families discussed their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative (and
83% on the teacher’s initiative). In 2018, the corresponding number was 72% (and 86%). Systems
that had more positive trends in parental involvement between 2018 and 2022 (i.e. systems in
which the share of parents who discussed their child’s progress with a teacher on their own initiative
shrank less) tended to show more stable or improved performance in mathematics.

Learning during COVID-related school closures

• In the Philippines, 55% of students reported that their school building was closed for more than
three months due to COVID-19. On average across OECD countries, 51% of students experienced
similarly long school closures. In education systems where performance remained high and
students’ sense of belonging improved, fewer students experienced longer school closures.
• During remote learning, 41% of students in the Philippines had problems at least once a week with
understanding school assignments and 34% of students with finding someone who could help them
with schoolwork (OECD averages: 34% and 24%). In education systems where performance
remained high and students’ sense of belonging improved, fewer students encountered problems
during remote learning.
• Support for students’ well-being was often limited when their schools were closed. In the
Philippines, 21% of students reported that they were supported daily through live virtual classes
on a video communication program. Only 18% of students reported that they were asked daily, by
someone from the school, how they were feeling (OECD averages: 51% and 13%).
• If school buildings have to close again in the future, many students across the OECD feel confident
about using digital technology for learning remotely but fewer students feel confident about taking
responsibility for their own learning. Some 52% of students in the Philippines feel confident or very
confident about using a video communication program and 68% of students feel confident or very
confident about motivating themselves to do school work (OECD averages: 77% and 58%).

What else does PISA tell us?

Resources invested in education

• Expenditure on education is related to student performance only to a certain extent. Among the
countries/economies whose cumulative expenditure per student, over all primary and secondary
school years between the ages of 6 and 15, was under USD 75 000 (PPP) in 2019, higher
expenditure on education was associated with higher scores in the PISA mathematics test. In the
Philippines, the cumulative expenditure per student, over ten years of age between 6 and 15, was
equivalent to about USD 11 000 (PPP).
• In about half of all countries/economies with comparable data, school principals in 2022 were more
likely than their counterparts in 2018 to report a shortage of teaching staff. This was also the case
in the Philippines. In 2022, 43% of students in the Philippines were in schools whose principal

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reported that the school’s capacity to provide instruction is hindered by a lack of teaching staff (and
19%, by inadequate or poorly qualified teaching staff). In 2018, the corresponding proportions were
19% and 8%. In most countries/economies, students attending schools whose principal reported
shortages of teaching staff scored lower in mathematics than students in schools whose principal
reported fewer or no shortages of teaching staff.

How students progress through schooling

• When they sat the PISA test in 2022, 54% of 15-year-old students in the Philippines were enrolled
in 10th grade.
• In the Philippines, 84% reported that they had attended pre-primary education for one year or more
(OECD average: 94%). On average across OECD countries, students who had attended pre-
primary education for one year or more scored higher in mathematics at the age of 15 than students
who never attended or who had attended for less than one year, even after accounting for socio-
economic factors.
• Some 25% of students in the Philippines reported that they had repeated a grade at least once
(OECD average: 9%) after entering primary school. Grade repetition tends to be less prevalent in
high performing systems.

School autonomy

• In the Philippines, 32% of students attended a school where principals had the main responsibility
for hiring teachers (OECD average: 60%), and 50% were enrolled in a school where teachers had
the main responsibility for choosing which learning materials are used (OECD average: 76%).
Many high-performing school systems tend to entrust principals and teachers with these
responsibilities.

Key features of PISA 2022

The content

• The PISA 2022 survey focused on mathematics, with reading and science as minor areas and
creative thinking as the innovative area of assessment. PISA 2022 also included an assessment
of young people’s financial literacy, which was optional for countries and economies. Results for
mathematics, reading and science are released on 5 December 2023 and results for creative
thinking and financial literacy in 2024.

The students

• Some 690 000 students took the assessment in 2022, representing about 29 million 15-year-olds
in the schools of the 81 participating countries and economies.
• In the Philippines, 7193 students, in 188 schools, completed the assessment in mathematics,
reading or science, representing about 1782 900 15-year-old students (an estimated 83% of the
total population of 15-year-olds).

The assessment

• Students took two hour-long tests, each devoted to one subject. Different students were given
different test questions and different combinations of subjects (e.g. mathematics followed by

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reading, or science followed by mathematics, etc.). Test items were a mixture of multiple-choice
questions and questions requiring students to construct their own responses.
• Students also answered a background questionnaire, which took about 35 minutes to complete.
The questionnaire sought information about the students themselves, their attitudes, dispositions
and beliefs, their homes, and their school and learning experiences. School principals completed
a questionnaire about school management, organisation, and the learning environment.
• Some countries/economies also distributed additional questionnaires, to students, parents and/or
teachers, to elicit more information. The findings from these optional questionnaires are not
covered by this note.

References

OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, PISA, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en

This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions
expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member
countries of the OECD.
This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or
sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the
name of any territory, city or area.

For more information about PISA 2022 visit www.oecd.org/pisa

Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using http://gpseducation.oecd.org.
Questions can be directed to the PISA team at the Directorate for Education and Skills:
[email protected].
This note was written by Francesco Avvisati and Rodolfo Ilizaliturri, Directorate for Education and Skills.

This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-
NC-SA 3.0 IGO). For specific information regarding the scope and terms of the licence as well as possible
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