QC schools fare well in achievement test

Students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools in Quezon City have shown remarkable improvement in English, Science, Math and Pilipino, according to results of the 2006 achievement test conducted by the city’s division of schools for schoolyear 2005-2006.

In the elementary level, a division mean score of 24.03, or a 60.07 percent mastery percentage, was obtained by students in all four subjects, which city schools officials described as a considerably high rating not experienced by the division since the implementation of the revised basic education curriculum took effect in 2001-2002 schoolyear.

Division of city schools superintendent Dr. Victoria Fuentes said the rating was almost two percent higher than the vision mean score obtained last schoolyear and almost four percent higher than the score registered during schoolyear 2002-2003, which stands at 21.43.

Among the top performing schools were Libis Elementary School, Belarmino Elementary School, Congressman Reynaldo A. Calalay Memorial School, Kalantiyaw Elementary School, Esteban Abad Elementary School, Pura V. Kalaw Elementary School, Villa Verde Elementary School, L.R. Pascual Elementary School, Bungad Elementary School and Dona Josefa Edralin Marcos Elementary School.

Behind them were the Payatas A Elementary School and Commonwealth Elementary School in District II, which constitutes majority of the city’s urban poor.

Students enrolled in the secondary level fared better in schoolyear 2005-2006 based on the 21.47 division mean score, or 42.95 mastery percentage, they obtained during the achievement test administered in March this year.

The rating was almost two percent higher than the mean score registered during the 2003-2004 schoolyear.

Top performers include the Quezon City Science High School. Don A. Roces Sr. Science and Technology School, E. Rodriguez Jr. High School, Krus na Ligas High School, Flora A. Ylagan High School, Balara High School, New Era High School, Manuel Roxas High School, Don Quintin Paredes High School and Masambong High School.

The Quezon City government, under the leadership of Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., has instituted several reforms to improve the city’s public educational system, including the construction of additional school buildings, providing students with access to information technology and improvement of learning instruction to help public school students leap-frog to the electronic age.

Far surpassing the Department of Education’s budget allocation for school building in Quezon City, the Belmonte administration has spent P1.77 billion and will invest P334 million more this year.

From 2001 to April 2006, the investments have resulted in the construction of 750 new classrooms, benefiting more than 37,000 students. The 137 to be added this year would address the needs of 6,000 more.

"What the city government is working on right now is to ensure that each child in our public school has access to facilities that are conducive to learning," Belmonte said.

To date, the city has the most number of enrollees in the National Capital Region, with 400,000.