This presentation describes results from the 2019 National EGRA study, comparing it to the same study that was done in 2013. It was presented at the International Mother Languages Conference and Festival, organized in the Philippines in 2021.

An overview of the results of a nationally-representative Early Grade Reading Study conducted in 2019 in the Philippines. The full report is available.

This study explores the extent to which mother-tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE), as implemented at scale in the Philippines, is having an impact on students’ reading and writing skills in English and Filipino at the end of Grade 3. This 2019 study repeats a 2013 study that evaluated the reading skills of a representative sample of students from across the Philippines using an Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) carried out by RTI, the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd), and a local research firm. In both cases, the study was administered by RTI-trained assessors made up of local education authorities and professional survey researchers. For the 2013 study, the Grade 3 students assessed had completed lower primary under the pre-MTB-MLE curriculum, which used only English and Filipino as the medium of instruction. For this 2019 study, the Grade 3 students had 3 years of learning under the MTB-MLE curriculum, which was designed to teach lower primary students in their mother-tongue language before transitioning into learning in Filipino and English as mediums of instruction in upper primary. [508 Compliant version to be updated].

This study measured students’ reading ability and gathered basic demographic information from children and teachers. Some standard context information was also gathered from children about their exposure to reading in the home. Thus, the data allow us to describe one outcome of the current schools sampled—children’s reading ability—but they do not provide any empirical measurement of the inputs that contribute to this outcome. To explain the current state of reading performance as measured by this study, we must rely on other contextual data from our concurrent Language Usage Study and general knowledge of mother-tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) implementation, as documented by policy and other studies carried out by other researchers. In the absence of direct measurement of “implementation fidelity” to a particular reading instruction program or materials, we must also rely on global evidence of how reading skills develop in alphabetic languages. To put it simply, children can learn to read, but only if they are taught to read. Teachers can only teach reading if they have been prepared to do so through training and are equipped with appropriate materials. Teachers and students must be present and making productive use of class time. The purpose of using EGRA as a system diagnostic is primarily to establish a baseline against which future progress can be measured and to identify priority areas for instructional improvement and teacher training. Cite this report: Betts, K., Punjabi, M., Pouezevara, S. & Cummiskey, C. (2019). 2019 Regional Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA): Bahasa Sug, Chavacano, Magindanawn, and Mëranaw. Prepared for USAID under the All Children Reading-Philippines Project, AID-OAA-TO- 16-00017. Research Triangle Park, NC: RTI.

The objective of this study was to provide insight into the relationships between the teachers’ and students’ language usage, the MTB-MLE policy implementation, and student reading outcomes, especially in areas with linguistically heterogeneous populations. It sought to examine how language usage in the classroom conforms to or diverges from the MTB-MLE policy after six years of implementation, which factors are associated with higher policy implementation, and how language usage by teachers and students relates to student learning outcomes.

A one page description of the Education Technology Ecosystem in the Philippines.

This topic brief was prepared by Liezl F. Dunuan, under a subcontract issued to the Foundation for Information Technology in Education (FIT-ED), Philippines. It is based on document review and interviews with officials and staff of the DepEd’s regional and division offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Baguio City, DICT, DOST-Science Education Institute, the United Nations Development Programme Philippines office, two private telecommunications companies (Globe and Smart), two private EdTech service providers, and two non-profit organizations working in EdTech. Relevant policy documents were also reviewed. Carmen Strigel (RTI International) contributed to the international policy analysis section.

This topic brief is based on information from interviews with officials and staff of the DepEd Information and Communications Technology Service, BLD, NEAP, and DOST-SEI; head of the education programs of private companies; and faculty members from three higher education institutions in the Philippines engaged in teacher professional development. Relevant policy documents were also reviewed. This brief was prepared by Monalisa T. Sasing, under a subcontract issued to FIT-ED, Philippines. It was edited by Sarah Pouezevara (RTI) prior to publication.

This topic brief is based on information from interviews with officials and staff of DepEd regional and division offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Baguio City, the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute, the United Nations Development Programme Philippines office, two private telecommunications companies (Globe Telecommunications and Smart Communications), two private EdTech service providers, and two non-profit organizations working in EdTech. Relevant policy documents were also reviewed. This brief was prepared by Liezl F. Dunuan, under a subcontract issued to the Foundation for Information Technology in Education (FIT-Ed), Philippines. It was edited by Sarah Pouezevara (RTI) prior to publication.” (2 April 2020).

This policy brief is based on information from interviews with officials and staff of the ICTS Unit and the BLR of DepEd, participants in the OER teacher training workshops under the Digital Rise Program led by ICTS, and experts from two higher education institutions in the Philippines that are engaged in teacher training in using OER. In addition, relevant policy documents and projects reports were reviewed. This brief was prepared by Patricia B. Arinto, under a subcontract issued to the FIT-Ed, Philippines.