PISA 2025 GAINS, GAPS: PHL is rising fastest in reading. It is still last-tier.

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

Filipino students posted their best performance since the Philippines joined the Programme for International Student Assessment, recording significant gains in reading, mathematics, and science in the 2025 global assessment released Tuesday.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the Philippines scored 373 in science, 371 in mathematics, and 367 in reading, improving by 17, 16, and 20 points, respectively, from PISA 2022.

The gains are significant because the Philippines had struggled near the bottom of the international assessment since joining PISA in 2018.

In 2022, Filipino 15-year-olds scored 356 in science, 355 in mathematics, and 347 in reading.

In its first cycle in 2018, the country ranked last among 79 participants in reading and second-lowest in mathematics and science. In 2022, it placed among the bottom 10 of 81 education systems across all three domains.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development identified the Philippines as the fastest-improving participant in reading over the past decade and among the education systems showing gains in mathematics.

By the OECD’s own convention, 20 points on the PISA scale corresponds to roughly one year of schooling, placing the reading gain at approximately a year of additional learning.

The improvement also came as reading and mathematics performance declined sharply across OECD countries.

PISA 2025 involved about 760,000 15-year-old students across 91 countries and economies, making it the largest PISA assessment so far.

More Filipino students also crossed Level 2, which PISA treats as the baseline proficiency at which learners begin demonstrating the knowledge and skills needed to handle practical situations.

About 32% reached Level 2 or higher in science, 21% in mathematics, and 31% in reading.

That is an improvement, but it also highlights the scale of the remaining learning crisis: roughly two-thirds or more of Filipino students still failed to reach minimum proficiency, depending on the subject.

The Philippines also remains substantially behind OECD averages.

PISA 2025 OECD averages were about 482 in science, 463 in mathematics, and 461 in reading, leaving the Philippines behind by 109 points in science, 92 in mathematics, and 94 in reading.

The results therefore represent a clear improvement rather than the end of the country’s learning crisis.

The OECD said PISA 2025 showed broader deterioration internationally, with mathematics and reading performance across OECD countries falling to their lowest averages recorded by the assessment.

One in five students across OECD countries is now a low performer in science, mathematics, and reading, up from 16% in 2022.

Socioeconomic inequality also remains a major predictor of student performance internationally, underscoring the challenge of ensuring that learning gains reach disadvantaged students.

PISA measures how well 15-year-olds can apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems rather than simply recall material taught in school.

Science was the main domain assessed in the 2025 cycle.

Testing in the Philippines was conducted from March 1 to April 11, 2025, among randomly selected 15-year-olds from 208 schools nationwide.

The Department of Education credited teachers, school leaders, parents, local governments, and education partners for contributing to the improvement.

Angara, however, acknowledged that the results should not be treated as a victory lap, with substantial work still needed to close learning and equity gaps, strengthen support for teachers and schools, and ensure that the gains can be sustained.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education, or EDCOM 2, likewise welcomed the results but said they should be used alongside national and classroom assessments to guide reforms under the country’s education and workforce development plans.