Amid the challenges that confront the Philippine education system, the Department of Education (DepEd) maintained that something good is still happening, especially when it comes to the government’s efforts to uplift the quality of basic education in the country.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones cited, for instance, the performance of some Philippine schools in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

DepEd noted that the Pasig City Science High School (PCSHS) and the Regional Science High School for Region 6 (RSHS-6) were identified as top performers in 2018 PISA.

“It was never mentioned that we have these schools which have achieved very high performance rating on a global scale,” she said. “So there must be something good happening in the Philippine education and that something good has to be shared,” she added.

Briones said that there were a total of top 20 schools which have achieved very high performance in the 2018 PISA. “So we’re asking the teachers, the school heads what lessons they can impart,” she added.

As the Philippines prepares to join the PISA in 2022, the schools shared best practices in their commitment to delivering quality education. Both PCSHS and RSHS-6 believe that the country's preparation in the next round of PISA in 2022 will serve as an “investment of education” for the future generation.

The representatives of the two schools pointed out mentoring and teacher empowerment as two key factors in their outstanding performance during the PISA 2018.

PCSHS Principal Charlie Fababaer showcased the role of teachers in adopting a student-centric and ICT-enhanced pedagogy that encourages deep learning, critical thinking, and creativity.

Fababaer noted that their school’s approach creates a playground of creative thinking and holistic development for learners, thus, boosting exposure to national and international mathematics competitions and scientific projects.

“While our school is student-centric, we are also giving primary importance to our teacher,” Fabaer said.

The school uses In-Service Training and Learning Action Cell (LAC) sessions as its primary actions in enhancing their content knowledge and pedagogy, including classroom management and other aspects of teacher quality.

“(During) these professional development sessions, they are (allowed) to share their best practices and talk about the things that are working inside the classroom,” Fabaer said. “We (also involve) them in our planning activities so that they would feel that they are empowered,” he added.

Meanwhile, RSHS-6 Principal Ma. Santia Arboleda highlighted peer mentoring, where top performers of the class are encouraged to guide their fellow students through hard lessons. The RSHS Region 6 alumni are also invited to join the said coaching system to help graduating students prepare for their college entrance exams.

“We cannot do these things alone. To involve the stakeholders in the preparation for PISA 2018, the school held an orientation with the parents where the parents gave a positive response in supporting the school, (and) for technical assistance, the DepEd Division of Aklan (has) also extended support,” Arboleda said.

Aside from these two schools, Briones also praised the DepEd Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) for scoring the highest in reading literacy results in PISA 2018 as well as the Baguio City National High School (BCNHS).

While the 2018 PISA showed that “dismal ranking” of the Philippines in some key areas, Briones believes that the practices of schools will greatly contribute to the national effort in raising the country’s quality of education.