DIFFICULTIES IN MATHEMATICAL SKILLS OF GRADE 8 STUDENTS

IN LAMAO NATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL

SCHOOL YEAR 2022-2023

PRINCESS YVANNE ROSALES

ALJON FERIDO

JOHN KALLY MAGNAAN

FRANCIS MYKHIEL ROXAS

JOHN RALPH GARCHE

JOHN VINCENT PARACAD

MARY ANN ALVAREZ

KATHLEEN DOMINGUEZ

ANGELA LESNIO

BEA LYN PASCO

MYRA MAE SANDULAN

CHARMAINE MALIG-ON

HENRYELA OGATIS
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The Philippine government has pursued the continuation of general in-person classes at

the start of School Year 2022-2023. Such classes were halted due to the covid-19 pandemic and

public health concerns. The government assures the masses for this to be a step towards the long

awaited normalcy. The schools and other academic institutions, however, are still adapting to the

resumed operations after a long period of relying on Alternative Learning Modalities.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has stated the issues that the students are facing regarding

the activities of various schools in a senate hearing as reported by GMA News. He said that the

constant disruption by the pandemic to the education would eventually lead learners to lose basic

academic skill such as numeracy and literary among others (GMA, 2022).

As the senator stated, the learners are bound to lose some of the basic academic skills that

should have been acquired during the elementary level of education. This includes studying

skills, problem-solving skills, critical and decision-making skills, and task-management skills

(Eleby, 2009).

Unsurprisingly, mathematics has been linked to the said academic skills in ways more

than one. It could be said to be an important skills and ability necessary regardless of any career

choice, as people deal with it in one’s everyday life.

Everyday life is full of challenges that demand math-related activities (Jansen et al.,

2016). It includes one’s basic financial management, measurement of necessary materials

depending on the situation, even simply calculating the time and date for necessary activities.

There’s also the academic and professional services.

 School Year 2022-2023’s batch of grade 8 students are the ones who experienced the lack

of final year in elementary level of education, as well as the ones who spent a whole first year of

junior high school whilst still under the alternative learning modalities. The 6 th and 7th curriculum

of education contains the basics of mathematics that will be used in the lessons of preceding

grades. Thus, the lacking education of the said grade levels eventually takes effect on the

mathematical skills of grade 8 students.

Several mathematics teachers of grade 7 and 8 in Lamao National High School have

confirmed that there are indeed some declines in terms of the student’s grade from the

elementary, as well as the lack of the expected mathematical skills of 7th and 8th graders.

In this study, the researchers aim to identify the said difficulties in mathematical skills of

grade 8 students, with the goals to help formulate solutions to the problem.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to determine the difficulties in mathematical skills of grade 8 students of

Lamao National High School of School Year 2033-2023. It aims to answer questions

specifically:

1. How may the Mathematics performance of the students be described in terms of GPA?

2. How may the factors lead to difficulties?

2.1 understanding of key concepts and principles of numbers and number sense

2.2 understanding of patterns and algebra

2.3 understanding of geometry

2.4 statistics and probability; and

 2.5 application of math lessons in critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning,

communicating, making connections, representations, and decision in real-life

3. Is there a significant relationship between the mathematical performance and the mentioned

factors?

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This quantitative research aims to tackle an in-depth study to determine the difficulties in

mathematical skills that students face prior to the two-year distance learning. This study is going

to be descriptive, as it will focus on identifying such difficulties that the respondents face due to

similar circumstances. The respondents would be selected within the Grade 8 students of Lamao

National High school. Using the Slovin’s formula, it has been agreed upon to have a total of 185

respondents, 19 each from five different sections and 18 each from the remaining five other

section. This study will use the cluster sampling as a sampling method.

In this study, questionnaire-surveys will be used as the research instrument. The

questionnaires will be made by the researcher based on the focus and the objective of the study,

in order to collect the necessary data about the participants’ comprehensions and skills in

Mathematics. It is composed of 5 questions, with varying topics, which are heavily relying on

this study’s statement of the problem, which is then based on a Learning Competency from the

Department of Education. The questionnaire would be then given to the respondents, allowing

them a short yet adequate amount of time to answer the questions. The standard and necessary

protocols will be strictly followed in order to not breach ethics and the norms expected of

researches, compromising the participants’ rights and other factors.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Department of Education (DepEd). The results gathered from this study may be

beneficial to DepEd as the data could be used to improve the mathematics curriculum of the

students, in order to fill the gap of knowledge caused by the two-year distance learning. It may

also provide a deeper understanding of the difficulties that the students face, rather than the

generally lacking holistic view that the administrative unit of the department regularly monitors.

Lamao National High School. The results of this study may be used by the school to

improve the performance of the students, which is directly reflecting the performance of the

educational institute. This study may also serve as a basis of the support that the school may give

the teachers, in hopes of improving the mathematical skills of the students.

Teachers. The teachers, especially grade 8 and 9 educators, may use this as a reference

with regards to the possible revisions of their lessons, in order to keep the students to the

standard mathematical skills that students should have. This study provides a better

understanding of the difficulties of grade3 8 students prior to the pandemic. Thus, offering an

insight of considered necessary.

Students. This study may help provide data about lacking mathematical skills of

students. It may be a reference and source for revisions, if there are any to address the difficulties

that the students face.

Future researchers. This study may be used as a tool and reference for any future

studies and research.

NOTES IN CHAPTER 1

HANA BORDEY, GMA News. (2022, August 5). Senate inquiry on impact of school closures

during pandemic sought | News |. GMA News Online.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/840620/senate-inquiry-on-impact-

of-school-closures-during-pandemic-sought/story/

Eleby Jr, C. (2009). The Impact of a Student's Lack of Social Skills on their Academic Skills in

High School. Online Submission.

Jansen, B. R. J. (2016, April 19). Affective and Motivational Factors Mediate the Relation

between Math Skills and Use of Math in Everyday Life. Frontiers.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00513/full?

fbclid=IwAR2dD4byKaXR20O57ed3q0YbyhXWtGv65PVdPa_CVTaYiF-

HqAPTzNJwyw4
 CHAPTER 2

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

As we all know, students are already struggling with various academic subjects, one of

which is mathematics, even before the pandemic began. Report states that Filipino students are

falling behind fellow students from other Southeast Asian countries. It is noted that a huge

portion of fifth grade students who are chosen to be a participant in a study, are only able to

perform the basic skills set expected of early years in primary education. The same report also

stated that the majority of the students are still working on to master the expected fundamental

skills of a senior primary student (Balinbin, 2020).

Moreover, the pandemic has brought even more things to consider when it comes to the

education of Filipino students aside from the previous concerns. Despite the gradually loosing

health protocols, the Covid19 pandemic is yet to be officially ended. Furthermore, the two-year

distance learning has more impact in today’s education than people has ever realized. The

stagnated and therefore lacking education during the lockdown has affected the academic skills

of the students, causing the majority to fail achieving the expected and standard competency of

the students with regards of their educational level. In a report, Manila Times gave examples of

such cases like the drastic rise of failed comprehensive reading, and simple mathematical

operations, with the emphasis on low and middle-income countries which include the Philippines

(Cecilia, 2022).
 As the schools once again opened their gates last August 2022 for in-person classes,

various institutions expressed concerns such as health security and budget (Lacerna, 2022), and

the preparedness of stakeholders, mainly teachers and students. Such matters are important in

order to resume and fall back into the ‘normal’ version of the people’s lives.

To give solution to the pressing issue, it is critical to look deeper and analyze the factors

of unsatisfactory academic performance. It is essential in order to present solutions and to enable

the students to engage in the said solutions (Waterford.org, 2019).

(Balos, 2020) shared in an article in pressreader.com the Most Essential Learning

Competencies or MELC has been a great help during the distance-learning regarding the

education of the students. It has been indispensable in times when the system of education was

yet to determined, causing problems for the school stakeholders. It was then decided to be used

in the continuation of the in-person classes. However, there are bound to be some challenges no

matter what mediums of teaching the teachers use. Especially since the past two years of

isolation and distance-learning heavily affected the academic skills, particularly in Mathematics,

of the Filipino students.

One of the most principal part of MELC is the understanding of key concepts and

principles of numbers and number sense. In an article in (Cambridge.org), key concepts are

described as ‘particularly important in a certain context’, bearing the most essential skills and

understanding needed. It is the same case with the principles of numbers and number sense. Such

are important in comprehending the most basic, and thus progressing lessons in Mathematics.

Understanding patterns in algebra is also an essential for students to learn. (Vogstad,

2015), a teacher who specializes in childhood education says in her blog that learning patterns is

equivalent to equipping a student with the understanding of mathematical relationships and

therefore providing the basis of understanding algebra, data analysis and the capability of solving

complex math problems. Meanwhile, Algebra was described as something that junior highschool

students need in order to connect logic with abstract thinking and problem-solving in real life

(Lazzarinni, 2021). It is used as a basis for many other branches of Mathematics such as

Calculus, and is deemed important if one is to enter STEM careers.

Geometry is also studied even by infants. It only proves that it is essential to learn, as our

world is made of various shapes and sizes. In junior high school, specifically in 8 th grade, the

study of geometry gives more access to basic geometry understanding and a chance to apply said

understanding into more in-depth and complex concepts that is eventually needed in more

advanced and collegiate branches of Mathematics such as trigonometry (lds.org).

Another part of the MELC that students are needed to study is statistics and probability.

Probability is defined as a subject that intends to analyze the likelihood of events happening in

the future, and Statistics as another subject that actually uses Probability to analyze the collected

data (studysmarter.us,2013). It is another set of skills and knowledge that needs to be thoroughly

taught to students as it is essential to more complex subjects in the preceding years such as

practical research.

REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES

Grade 8 students are ideal respondents as such students is the batch that had experienced

their last year of elementary level and the first year of junior high school during the span of two-

year distance learning. Thus, it is imperative that they are bound to be affected by a barely

effective method of learning.

 There had been multiple concerns over the implementation of the K -12 curriculum when

it was first introduced to the Philippine Education system (Perante, 2022). Such concerns were

also applied to various subjects that Filipino students track on. It is still a relevant topic in

political and scholarly debates up to this day.

Mathematics is an essential subject and is usually one to go beyond the walls of a

classroom. It is only right that the subject is to be learned deeply and more comprehensively

(Capate & Lapinid, 2015). However, it is also natural that students encounter difficulties upon

the exploration of the said subject. It is often that the students are more intimidated of the said

subject, more focused on highly complex formulas and methods rather than its very essence and

importance (Naungayan, 2022).

Another thing to consider is the two-year gap in the normal and traditional education of

Filipino students (Fulgacio, et al., 2021) highlighted the self-efficacy theory from Bandura

(1977). Although the study concluded that the Filipino students’ self-efficacy is still high during

the distance learning due to the pandemic, it still could not compare to the actual in-person

classes.

Tus (2021) also listed variables such as depression and anxiety often on the recent studies

about distance learning. As time passes, it is becoming more evident that depression and anxiety

has affected the learning capabilities of the students, even after the distance learning halted and

the traditional in-person classes resumed (Demetrious et. Al., 2021).

 Upon the cancelation of classes and transition to non-traditional learning methods, the

Department of Education opted out to revise parts on the current curriculum in order to fit in the

situation that the whole world found itself into. Thus, the Most Essential Learning Competencies

(MELC) was compiled to attain the best results given the rather limiting circumstances of

distance learning. According to DepEd, it is “defined as what the students need, considered

indispensable, in the teaching-learning process to building skills to equip learners for subsequent

grade levels and subsequently, for lifelong learning. On the other hand, desirable learning

competencies were defined as what may enhance education but may not be necessary in building

foundational skills.” (Bryan, 2020).

REVIEW OF RELATED THEORIES

In this study, Krutetski’s (1976) theory about Mathematical ability is deeply

incorporated. He defined mathematical ability as acquiring, processing, and storing mathematical

information. He theorized learner’s capacity to learn and master new mathematical ideas and

skills.

Every normal student is capable of good mathematical reasoning, according to Piaget

(1968), if attention (and care) is paid to activities that pique his interest and if, through this

method, the emotional restraints that all too frequently make him feel inferior in math lessons are

lifted.

Brousseau (1970) proposed the Theory of Situation. In this theory, the students were

theorized to be able to overcome and accept the challenge of an interesting and educational
mathematical scenario with which an instructor provides advance instructions, including

conditions, rules, a goal, and most importantly, the success criterion.

PARADIGM

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE
1. MATHEMATICAL FACTORS
(BASED ON MLC) DEPENDENT VARIABLE
-understanding of key concepts 1. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS OF
& principles of numbers and GRADE 8 STUDENTS
number sense 2. STUDENT’S GENERAL POINT
- Understanding of patterns AVERAGE (GPA) IN
&algebra MATHEMATICS
-understanding of geometry
-statistics and probability

HYPOTHESIS

Ho: There is no significant relationship between the following mathematical factors and the

Mathematics GPA of grade 8 students

Ho: There is no significant relationship between the following mathematical factors and the

Mathematical performance of Grade 8 students.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

GRADE 8 STUDENTS – serves as the target population of this study.

PANDEMIC - a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease over a whole country or the

world at a particular time. The context in this study’s reason and objective

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS – students’ skills of conducting mathematical procedures.

MOST ESSENTIAL LEARNING COMPETENCIES – Learning competencies derived from

the current K-12 curriculum of the Philippines. It served as one of the basis of this

study’s Statement of the Problem and its questionnaire.

DISTANCE LEARNING – an alternative learning modality that was mainly used during the

height of the pandemic in order to continue the education of Filipino students.

NOTES IN CHAPTER 2

Neil, N. (2020, December 2). Filipino students falling behind in reading, writing levels in

Southeast Asia. BusinessWorld Online.

https://www.bworldonline.com/editors-picks/2020/12/03/331914/filipino-students-

falling-behind-in-reading-writing-levels-in-southeast-asia/

By Siegfred Aldous Lacerna(Philstar.com) -. (2021, December 4). Students, doctors still see

problems as more schools reopen. Philstar.com.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/12/04/2145704/students-doctors-still-see-

problems-more-schools-reopen/amp/

Why Failure Is Good for Learning, and How It Applies to Your Struggling Students. (2019,

October 23). Waterford.org. https://www.waterford.org/education/why-failure-is-better-

than-success-for-learning/?

fbclid=IwAR1n86B8LZNZqw3TQXMWvkyhqv4tkLFnW3ZmTINznVYtxTBNUVgag2

QPeSQ

Cecilia, E. D. (2022, October 20). The state of learning loss in children. The Manila Times.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/10/20/campus-press/the-state-of-learning-loss-in-

children/1862939

Bolos, D. L. (2020, December 4). PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine

Subscriptions. PressReader. https://www.pressreader.com/

Getting started with Key Concepts. (n.d.). https://cambridge-community.org.uk/professional-

development/gswkey/index.html?

fbclid=IwAR3tcX5D5kLEJZ4wrL_DjzXW1EthQUj7Vt5yp9xlJvfcYsijRrH7PF1RAsU

Lazzarini, J. (2021, August 15). What’s with Middle School Math? Why Math Matters for

Student Success. https://www.novakeducation.com/blog/whats-with-middle-school-math-

why-math-matters-for-student-success?

fbclid=IwAR3dMhcK0d4O8xejhPeOqTLeA9U13xBlZcDqqEce-NHyjft4g3dh7Q7ghEI

Middle School Curriculum / Geometry. (n.d.). https://www.ldsd.org/Page/13581?

fbclid=IwAR3dMhcK0d4O8xejhPeOqTLeA9U13xBlZcDqqEce-NHyjft4g3dh7Q7ghEI

Perante, W. (2022). Mathematical Readiness of Freshmen Engineering Students (K-12 2020

Graduates) in Eastern Visayas in the Philippines. Asian Journal Of University Education,

18(1), 191-204.

Capate, R. N. A., & Lapinid, M. R. C. (2015, March). Assessing the mathematics performance of

grade 8 students as basis for enhancing instruction and aligning with k to 12 curriculum.

In Proceedings of the De La Salle University (DLSU) Research Congress (Vol. 3).

Achievement of Secondary School Learners in Banayoyo-Lidlidda District. Puissant, 3, 395-407.

Naungayan, R. R. (2022). Attitude towards Mathematics and Mathematics

Fulgencio, L., Baldado, K., Enriquez, C., Delos Santos, A., Plaza, R., & Tus, J. (2021). Amidst

the online learning in the Philippines: The selfefficacy and academic motivation of the

senior high school students from private schools. International Journal Of Advance

Research And Innovative Ideas In Education.

Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological

review, 84(2), 191.

Tus, J. (2021). Amidst Covid-19 pandemic: depression, anxiety, stress, and academic

performance of the students in the new normal of education in the Philippines.

International Engineering Journal for Research & Development, 6, 13.

Demetriou, L., Keramioti, L., & Hadjicharalambous, D. (2021). Examining the relationship

between distance learning processes and university students’ anxiety in times of COVID-

19. Demetriou, L., Hadjicharalambous, D., & L. keramioti.(2021). Examining the

relationship between distance learning processes and university students anxiety in times

of covid. European Journal of Social Sciences Studies, 6(2), 123-141.

 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

This study uses non-experimental research design, as it only involves the analysis of the

gathered data that came from the variables that could not be manipulated by the researchers.

Michael (2015) cited Omari (2011) in her study as she defined research design as ‘a distinct plan

on how the research problem will be tackled’. It is considered to be the over-all plan on how the

study is to be conducted.

To be specific, the descriptive survey design was utilized by the researchers in this study,

where the main objective is to determine the difficulties in mathematical skills of Grade 8

students of Lamao National High School.

SAMPLING

The target population of this study is mainly the Grade 8 students of Lamao National

High School, with the total number of 341 students in all ten sections. Using Slovin’s formula, it

has been determined to gather a total of 185 respondents.

Utilizing stratified sampling as a sampling method, the number of respondents from each

section has been determined. Thomas (2022) defined sampling as a sampling method that divides

the population into strata.

SECTION NUMBER OF SAMPLES

 ACACIA 22

BANABA 19

CAMAGONG 19

BAGTAS 18

LAUAN 19

MAHOGANY 17

MOLAVE 19

NARRA 18

TALISAY 18

TANGUILE 16

INSTRUMENTS

In this study, the researchers will use survey-questionnaires as an instrument to gather

data. The questionnaires will heavily rely on the focus and objective of this study, in order to

collect the necessary information to answer the research problem. It will be composed of two

parts, the first one focusing on gathering data about the respondent such as names, section, and

General Pointed Average (GPA) in mathematics. The second one will be composed of at least

ten items (10) containing various essential learning competencies. The items will be compiled

from the modules issued by DepEd for the Grade 8 curriculum.

As this study’s main goal is to determine the specific difficulties in mathematical part of

the curriculum, Questionnaires are chosen due to its nature of being easy to administer.

DATA ANALYSIS METHOD

 In order to reach a higher rate of accuracy in analyzing the gathered data, the researchers

will use Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS). SPSS is a software that is used in

analyzing quantitative data. The software will categorize the data gathered, code it to an

appropriate variable, and tabulate the results.

As this study is descriptive-survey, the statistical treatment that will be used is the

descriptive statistics. By using data, the description of the population will be provided.
NOTES IN CHAPTER III

Michael, I. (2015). Factors leading to poor performance in mathematics subject in Kibaha

secondary schools (Doctoral dissertation, The Open University Of Tanzania).

Thomas, L. (2022, December 5). Stratified Sampling | Definition, Guide & Examples. Scribbr.

https://www.scribbr.com/methodology/stratified-sampling/