by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
High school graduates in the Davao Region fared well in entrepreneurial skills (ES) test not as well as with general scholastic aptitude (GSA) and technical-vocational aptitude (TVA). The three are components of the National Career Assessment Exam (NCAE)
According to data obtained from the Department of Education (DepEd) in Region 11, among its nine divisions, there was an average increase of the mean percentage scores (MPS) at 3.3% in entrepreneurial skills during the period from 2006 to 2010.
Tagum City got the highest in ES, 80.35 mean percentage score, followed by Digos City 79.45 MPS, Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) 78.41, Davao City 78.4, Davao Oriental 77.72, Panabo City 77.71, Davao del Sur 77.6, Compostela Valley (Comval) 76.53 and Davao del Norte 76.19.
The MPS in TVA of all divisions had decreased by an average of 10% from 2006 to 2010. This year, Tagum City has 63.53 MPS in TVA, IGaCos 62.55, Digos City 61.45, Panabo City 61.27, Davao City 60.81, Davao del Norte 60.24, Davao del Sur 59.55, Davao Oriental 58.85 and Comval 57.69.
Although the MPS in general scholastic aptitude of all divisions increased in 2010, they were generally the lowest among the three components of the NCAE. Tagum City has 49.74 MPS in GSA, Digos City 46.8, Davao City 45.33, Comval 44.39, Panabo City 44.37, Davao del Norte 44.08, Davao del Sur 43.8, IGaCoS 43.59 and Davao Oriental 42.82.
The GSA test is composed of academic subjects—Math, Science, Filipino, English and Araling Panlipunan (Social Studies).
The NCAE is used to determine which career that the fourth year student should pursue in college by looking at his or her strengths. But, the DepEd 11 education program supervisor, Nestoria A. Limosnero, said most graduates chose their courses based on what professions were in demand locally and overseas like nursing and business-related courses.
Limosnero said the students got high scores in ES because these skills, which are taught in the Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE), were learned by manual and actual workshops and do not require intensive memorization. “The good thing about ES is that students can engage in or put up their own business in whatever areas they are good at,” she added.
During the Student Technologists and Entrepreneurs of the Philippines —Skills Development and Competition (STEP-SDC) last February, region 11 was the fourth winner out of 17 regions in the over-all ranking for both elementary and high school.
The region won first for the contests in assembly, operating system installation and networking; simple circuit making; and medicine kit shelf-making for high school category. Also, for high school, it won second in dish gardening and bazaar; and, third in business planning. For elementary, it was second in asexual plant propagation, and fabric hand painting.
Low in English
DepEd 11 Director Susana Teresa Estigoy said the results of the National Achievement Test, particularly in English subject, for region 11 were fluctuating—low in 2006, high in 2007, highest in 2008, and low in 2009.
It decreased from 51.77% in school year 2008-2009 to 45.98% in 2009-2010.
But this is not alarming according to Dr. Chanette D. Cadiente, assistant chief of secondary education division, because all divisions reached its target percentage scores. She said this had actually happened nationwide as none gets more than 60% when in fact the ideal is at least 80%.
Estigoy said what worries them is not the performance of the students in English subject as it is second to Filipino in which they got the highest score. Among the five subject areas, it is in Araling Panlipunan that they achieved the lowest.
Noting that English is second in ranking, she said, this could possibly indicate an improvement of the English proficiency of high school graduates. Because the NCAE is taken during their second year level, the students still have two years to improve.
She added that the department has many interventions to enhance students’ performance in English. Through the National English Proficiency Program, teachers in elementary and high school were trained to enhance their English proficiency and teaching methods.
Scholars from regions 11, 5, 8 and 6 were sent to New Zealand for one and a half year and trained on the conduct of the Reading Recovery Program for elementary teachers. This special program will be launched by the scholars who arrived last January to become English supervisors.
In region 11, there were selected pilot schools, particularly public schools, where the program will be implemented. Estigoy said they are still in the stage of assessing the competency of English teachers and their background in teaching and reading. There are 600 teachers in the region from different divisions who are under this program.
For the high school teachers, Estigoy said that, three to four years ago, they started the program on training teachers how to mentor fellows in enhancing their English proficiency.
Bridging the gap
The low level of English proficiency among high school graduates may be shown in the results of the University of Southeastern Philippines Admission Test (USEPAT). According to the dean of College of Education, Dennis A. Alonzo, out of some 3,000 applicants for the school year 2010-2011, more than 2,000 did not pass the standard score required for English area.
If the score is in the bracket 1-3, it is low; 4-6 average; and, 7-9 high. Only those who got scores within the 8-9 bracket will be accepted to enroll in the university. The rest may take one more chance by enrolling in the English bridge program. It is a series of intensive classes for ten days to bridge the gap of English competency between high school and college.
Alonzo said the modules of this program were created by pool of writers in the university, mainly with masters and doctorate degrees. They identified first the competencies required for college students.
Handled by the Language Learning Institute, this crash course has four components namely discourse, strategic, linguistics and socio-linguistics. Alonzo added that it is in socio-linguistics that students were taught to use the language in the contexts or in other words, using the English language in appropriate manner.
Having taken the bridge program, students took a parallel exam of the USEPAT. When they scored within the passing bracket, they may enroll in the university, but if not, they may take another chance next school year.
As the researcher and evaluator of the English bridge program, Alonzo said that in a short period of time for the past three years, there was a significant increase in the mean scores of the finishers. Their raw scores in the post test increased by an average of 25 points, he said.
He added that the university has started the longitudinal study on the graduates of the first batch (2009) who took the English bridge program to see after a year if it has affected their English language proficiency by tracing their employment.
