DepEd: 4.5M struggling readers improved in one school year

The Department of Education (DepEd) on Wednesday said 4.5 million learners across all grade levels who were initially identified as struggling readers improved their literacy skills by the end of School Year 2025–2026.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara said the gains reflect the impact of DepEd’s intensified learning recovery efforts, as the agency reported a sharp drop in the number of learners needing urgent reading intervention and a near halving of those classified as low-performing in math.

“Our goal is to strengthen the entire learning recovery pipeline, from the earliest grades through senior high – so that early literacy success translates into lasting proficiency and genuine readiness for the world beyond graduation,” Angara said.

DepEd noted that fresh nationwide assessment results also showed broad gains in both reading and mathematics.

Based on results from the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), Rapid Math Assessment (RMA), and Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI), DepEd said the number of struggling readers fell from 6.7 million at the start of the school year to 2.2 million by year-end.

These learners were identified as needing urgent support in foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, decoding, and basic comprehension.

The biggest literacy gains were recorded in the early grades, with Key Stage 1 learners from Grades 1 to 3 posting a 33-percentage-point drop in struggling readers. Key Stage 3, covering Grades 7 to 10, followed with a 28-percentage-point decline, while Key Stage 2 learners in Grades 4 to 6 posted a 16-percentage-point drop.

At the same time, the number of learners considered “grade-level ready” in reading – or capable of independently engaging with texts – rose from 3.3 million to 5.8 million.

In mathematics, DepEd said the number of learners classified as “not or low proficient” dropped from 13 million to 6.8 million across all grade levels, signaling a “major improvement in numeracy recovery.”

The agency also reported steep declines in the share of “emerging learners” in math, or those performing below expected proficiency.

Key Stage 1 posted the largest improvement with a 46-percentage-point drop, followed by Key Stage 2 with 44 percentage points and Key Stage 3 with 18 percentage points.

While early grade learners posted the strongest gains, DepEd said it is now intensifying interventions for junior high school students, where recovery remains slower but improving.

For learners in Grades 7 to 10, the agency recorded a 28-percentage-point decline in struggling readers and an 18-percentage-point drop in emerging math learners.

“We will continue to refine these interventions to ensure that the progress we see in the early years is sustained through the secondary levels, equipping our high school learners with the analytical skills they need for the future,” Angara said.

To sustain the gains, DepEd said current remediation programs must eventually give way to stronger day-to-day classroom instruction, supported by broader reforms such as the proposed shift to a three-term school calendar aimed at protecting instructional time. — JMA, GMA News