Fourth Graders in the Philippines Score Last in Math and Science

When this blog started back in 2012, I noted that second year high school students in the Philippines had the lowest scores in both Math and Science in both 1999 and 2003 TIMSS. The results for the 2019 TIMSS are now available. This time, fourth grade students from the Philippines participated. These students are clearly products of the new K to 12 curriculum and the scores are actually worse this time. These data suggest that the new curriculum has not addressed what really plagues Philippine basic education. The DepEd K+12 curriculum introduced in 2012 only exacerbates the problems of education in the Philippines.

Above copied from

Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., Kelly, D. L., & Fishbein, B. (2020). TIMSS 2019 International Results in Mathematics and Science. Retrieved from Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center website: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/international-results/

The drop in scores is quite substantial. The black curve is for male students and the colored curve is for female students. These scores now suggest that a majority of fourth graders in the Philippines have not even mastered basic arithmetic. The scores in math: 280 (male) and 315 (female) are far below the low international benchmark of 400:

And the scores in science: 238 (male) and 261 (female) suggest the same. Fourth grade students in the Philippines seem to be not learning anything as they score far below the low international benchmark of 400:

To bring this picture in a more concrete fashion, here are sample questions  that students in the Philippines incorrectly answered. 

Science:

Above copied from
Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., Kelly, D. L., & Fishbein, B. (2020). TIMSS 2019 International Results in Mathematics and Science. Retrieved from Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center website: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/international-results/

Math:

Above copied from
Mullis, I. V. S., Martin, M. O., Foy, P., Kelly, D. L., & Fishbein, B. (2020). TIMSS 2019 International Results in Mathematics and Science. Retrieved from Boston College, TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center website: https://timssandpirls.bc.edu/timss2019/international-results/

I guess I can sound like a broken record, but unless we recognize what the real problem is, basic education in the Philippines will remain dismal. Here is what I wrote back in 2012: