NEWS RELEASE || September 8, 2026-𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐀 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐏𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) today announced significant score gains and improved global rankings in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) cycle, marking a decisive upward trajectory for Philippine basic education.

Filipino learners recorded gains across all three core assessment domains—Science, Mathematics, and Reading, reversing previous historical declines and surpassing scores from both the 2018 and 2022 assessment cycles.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 & 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲

Significant Score Gains Across All Domains

Compared to the 2022 results, the Philippines recorded substantial mean score increases across all tested subjects:

Reading: Reached 367 points (+20 points from 2022), placing the Philippines among the fastest-growing countries globally in reading literacy since previous cycles.

Science: Reached 373 points (+17 points from 2022), demonstrating positive decennial progress in contrast to a global downward trend in many OECD countries.

Mathematics: Reached 371 points (+16 points from 2022), earning recognition from the OECD as one of the most improved nations in mathematics performance.

𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬

The percentage of Filipino students reaching baseline academic proficiency (Level 2 and above) increased across all subjects:

Science: Rose to 32% in 2025 (up from 23% in 2022 and 22% in 2018).

Mathematics: Rose to 24% in 2025 (up from 16% in 2022 and 19% in 2018).

Reading: Rose to 31% in 2025 (up from 24% in 2022 and 20% in 2018).

𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬

With these performance gains, the Philippines successfully outranked additional partner countries compared to previous assessments:

Reading: Outranked 18 countries/economies (including Indonesia, El Salvador, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala).

Mathematics: Outranked 16 countries/economies (including Indonesia, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, and Kosovo).

Science: Outranked 14 countries/economies (including Dominican Republic, Palestinian Territories, Morocco, Kosovo, Paraguay, and Guatemala).

𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐨-𝐄𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬

High Student Aptitude and Resilience: According to PISA indicator deciles, Filipino students ranked exceptionally high (in the 10th decile) for Value of School, Goal Setting, Perseverance, Help Seeking, Curiosity, and Adaptability, underscoring the intrinsic motivation and strong growth mindset of Filipino learners.

Decline in Physical Bullying: Data revealed a continued drop in reported physical bullying (such as being hit or pushed around) from 32% in 2018 to 15% in 2025.

𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐄𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬

Despite operating with one of the lowest national education expenditures per student relative to performance among participating OECD countries, DepEd emphasized that these results demonstrate strong momentum while highlighting key priorities moving forward:

Targeting Cyberbullying: Strengthening school safety protocols to address cyberbullying, which has emerged as a significant threat to learning outcomes.

Expanding Stakeholder Partnerships: Further deepening collaboration with parents, Local Government Units (LGUs), and the private sector, whose support contributed significantly to these baseline gains.

Closing Achievement Gaps: Implementing targeted interventions to narrow equity gaps across regions, socio-economic backgrounds, and gender divisions across the country.

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For more information, contact (085) 221-1151, 0961-737-0873, or 0915-808-4734. Website: www.caraga.deped.gov.ph; email: caraga@deped.gov.ph; pau_caraga@deped.gov.ph

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