Filipino Students' PISA Results Highlight Science Performance Gap Linked to Socio-Economic Status

The most socio-economically advantaged 15-year-old Filipino students outperformed their most disadvantaged peers by a notable margin in science in the latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), continuing a trend observed since the country joined the assessment in 2018. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) PISA 2025 study showed that socio-economically advantaged students, representing the top 25%, outperformed those in the bottom 25% by 76 score points in science. “Between 2018 and 2025, the gap in science performance between the top and the bottom 25% of students in terms of socio-economic status remains stable in the Philippines, as well as across OECD countries on average,” the report said. The 76-point gap is similar to the OECD average of 85 score points. It also noted that during the period, performance improved to a similar extent among both advantaged and disadvantaged students. To determine the socio-economic status of test-takers, the OECD computes an index of economic, social and cultural status that allows students from all participating countries to be placed on a single common scale. This index is derived from parameters such as parental education, parental occupational status, and home possessions, allowing researchers to categorize students into distinct brackets, such as the top 25% most advantaged students and the bottom 25% most disadvantaged students. In the latest PISA, the largest share of Filipino students, at 51%, belonged to the bottom international quartile of the socio-economic scale, meaning they were among the most disadvantaged test-takers in 2025. Their average score in science was 354 points. Students from similar socio-economic backgrounds in global standouts such as B-S-J-Z (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang) in China and Türkiye scored significantly higher, the report said. This was lower than the Philippines’ overall average of 373 points in science, which saw an improvement of 17 points from the 2022 study. However, the score remained below the OECD average of 482 in science and ranked last among eight Southeast Asian peers, with Singapore scoring the highest at 560 points. The report said that socio-economic status accounted for 13% of the variation in science performance among Filipino students in PISA 2025, slightly higher than the 12% OECD average. Also, 11% of disadvantaged students in the Philippines scored in the country’s top quarter of science performers, qualifying them as academically resilient. PISA is an OECD-led international assessment that seeks to measure the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of 15-year-old students. It also measures how they can solve complex problems, think critically, and communicate effectively. More than 760,000 students from 91 countries and economies participated in PISA 2025, of which 8,072 students from 208 schools in the Philippines completed the assessment. This represents about 1.75 million 15-year-olds, or an estimated 82% of the country’s 15-year-old population. — Edg Adrian A. Eva