EDCOM 2 calls for curriculum reform, stronger foundational skills as proficiency declines

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) on Monday called for curriculum decongestion and mastery of foundational skills in early grades, following its report on declining student proficiency.

“EDCOM has long called for the decongestion of the curriculum, especially from Grades 1 to 3, to focus on foundational skills, especially literacy,” said EDCOM 2 Executive Director Karol Mark R. Yee in a news release.

The commission said that the study by the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) on the first-year pilot implementation of the MATATAG K-to-10 Curriculum highlighted the importance of curriculum reform as it showed significant improvements among Grade 2 students across all subjects.

“The significant learning gains we are seeing in Grade 2 students validate EDCOM 2’s core advocacy: that by decongesting the curriculum and prioritizing foundational mastery, we give our learners a real fighting chance”, EDCOM 2 Co-Chairperson Rep. Roman T. Romulo added.

The lack of mastery in foundational competencies during the early years of schooling is one of the root causes of the declining proficiency level among Filipino students as they progress in school, according to a separate report by the commission last Friday.

Citing the 2024 Early Language, Literacy, and Numeracy Assessment (ELLNA) data, EDCOM 2 said only 30.52% of Grade 3 learners were considered “proficient” or “highly proficient”.

Moving towards Grade 6, the 2024 National Achievement Test (NAT) shows that the proficiency rate drops to 19.56%, and drastically declines to only 1.36% in Grade 10, and 0.4% in Grade 12.

“Only about 14 in every 1,000 students at Grade 10, and 4 in every 1,000 at Grade 12, can demonstrate skills such as problem solving, managing and communicating information, and analyzing and evaluating data to create or formulate ideas,” the commission said.

Along with curriculum decongestion, the commission noted that adequate support for teachers must be available to help them keep up with the reforms. Other studies by PIDS reported that although teachers have improved flexibility in lesson delivery, it has also increased the time spent on lesson planning and preparation.

“We cannot expect our teachers to carry the weight of reform through sheer grit alone,” Mr. Romulo said.

“For these gains to be sustainable and scalable, we must match curriculum changes with robust instructional support, timely learning materials, and genuine concern for teacher wellbeing,” he added. — Almira Louise S. Martinez