A local initiative introduced by the Schools Division of Iloilo (SDO) of the Department of Education (DepEd) helped significantly improve the literacy and numeracy performance of Grade 1 to secondary school learners in the province of Iloilo.
The “Tib-ong Bumulutho” (Advancing Learners) program is aligned with the Strategic Instructional Roadmap of Division Superintendent Dr. Ernesto Servillon Jr., initially introduced in School Year 2023-2024 and further strengthened in the succeeding school calendar.
“The success of Tib-ong Bumulutho was attributed to the strong collaboration among SDO Iloilo, local government units, state universities and colleges, and private institutions,” the SDO Iloilo said in a statement on Thursday.
Key strategies include strengthening teacher capacity for literacy and numeracy remediation, using Oral Graphic Symbolic Language materials, and implementing the Reading Links program supported by the Iloilo provincial government.
These efforts are supported by structured remediation schedules, monthly monitoring under the ASSIST Framework, a technical assistance approach aimed at improving school-based management practices, and the active participation of local officials in pushing for literacy and numeracy as top priorities.
According to the statement, recent improvements were reflected in the results of the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment, Philippine Informal Reading Inventory, Enhanced Regional Unified Numeracy Test, and Rapid Math Assessment.
The division reported its most notable improvement in Key Stage 1 (Grades 1–3), where the percentage of learners at the frustration reading level dropped from 26.42 percent to just 7.71 percent, indicating that 92.29 percent are now considered grade-level ready.
Key Stage 2 (Grades 4–6) also showed positive gains, with 82.06 percent of learners performing at or above grade level. However, the division noted this stage may still benefit from more focused interventions.
At the secondary level, Key Stage 3 (Grades 7–10) saw a significant 17.97 percentage point drop in frustration-level readers, bringing the proportion of students at the instructional-independent level to 76.02 percent.
Notably, 450 schools in the division reported having no non-readers.
In numeracy, the division recorded an overall 8.42 percent decrease in non-numerates. Grade 7 students showed the most dramatic improvement, with a 29.21 percent decline in non-numerates. Learners in Grades 1–6 continued to perform strongly, with over 90 percent meeting the expected numeracy benchmarks.
However, Grades 5 and 6 had the smallest decreases at 2.77 percent and 1.68 percent, respectively, indicating areas for further intervention.
“While celebrating these achievements, SDO Iloilo will intensify efforts in Key Stage 2 and secondary levels, leveraging best practices and community partnerships to ensure all learners achieve foundational skills,” the statement said.
Iloilo province, during the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority, obtained an 88.6 percent rate in basic literacy for five years old and above and 68.4 percent in functional literacy for ages between 10 and 64.
Basic literacy is the ability to read and write a simple message in any language or dialect with understanding and to compute or perform basic mathematical operations.
Functional literacy, in addition to basic literacy skills, includes a higher level of comprehension skills. (PNA)
