RITQ Statement on the PISA 2025 Results
The latest results of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 highlight an inspiring turning point for Philippine basic education. For the first time since joining the assessment, the Philippines has posted significant score gains across science, mathematics, and reading.
The Research Institute for Teacher Quality (RITQ) welcomes these results with optimism. These gains reflect the commitment, resilience, and hard work of our teachers in the classroom and school environment. Their tireless effort to build strong foundational skills and support struggling learners made these results possible.
The RITQ also notes the important insights shared by Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for Education and Skills—emphasizing that the progress in the Philippines represents a sustained, real improvement driven by an education system that prioritizes foundational learning and invests in its students. Looking to our higher-performing East Asian neighbors, he pointed out essential lessons that can guide our next steps: setting high expectations for all learners, directing resources to where they are needed most, placing the top educators in the most challenging learning environments, and transforming teaching into one of the country’s most attractive and rewarding careers.
As an institute dedicated to enhancing teacher quality, RITQ views the PISA 2025 results as a catalyst to translate evidence into concrete actions. These include strengthening teacher preparation and professional learning through an explicit equity lens, equipping educators to respond to differences in learner readiness, resource-constrained classrooms, inclusive learning needs, and the need for evidence-informed differentiation.
As supported by the findings, teacher education must also equip future teachers to foster learner engagement and non-cognitive competencies that support learning, including curiosity, perseverance, goal-setting, self-regulated learning, collaboration, help-seeking, and a growth mindset through concrete and context-responsive classroom pedagogies. Equally important is preparing teachers to build positive classroom relationships, foster learners’ sense of belonging, address bullying and cyberbullying, promote digital citizenship, and create psychologically safe learning environments.
RITQ, therefore, commits to continue translating these insights into actions by bringing research and practice closer together. This year, the Institute will pursue stronger school-university research-practice partnerships that will bring together faculty, pre-service teachers, graduate students, and partner schools to test practical interventions addressing priority concerns such as literacy, numeracy, science learning, learning engagement, and educational equity.
The PISA results demonstrate that improvement is possible. The challenge now is to understand what is working and address what remains unresolved. Together with our teachers, school leaders, and education stakeholders, RITQ looks forward to sustaining this progress and building an education system where every Filipino learner receives the quality education they deserve.
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