PERFORMANCE OF PHILIPPINE

HIGH SCHOOLS WITH SPECIAL

SCIENCE CURRICULUM TRENDS IN
INTERNATIONAL MATHEMATICS
AND SCIENCE STUDY (TIMSS-
 ABSTRACT
This study aims to assess the performance of Filipino students of Science High Schools (SHS)
that participated in the 2008 TIMSS-Advanced, an international study conducted by the
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). TIMSS-
Advanced assessed the performance of students with special preparation in advanced
mathematics and physics, who are in the final year of secondary schooling, across countries.
The advanced mathematics assessment, in which the Philippines participated, covered the
content areas of Algebra, Calculus, and Geometry. In this study, data for the Philippines was
culled-out from the international database and the performance of SHS students in advanced
mathematics, as a whole and disaggregated according to type of SHS (Philippine Science High
School, S&T-Oriented HS, Regional Science High School and Other Science High School)
was compared with that of students from other participating countries. In-depth analysis was
done to identify content areas in mathematics and cognitive domains (Knowing, Applying and
Reasoning) where Filipino students are relatively weak or strong. Results of this study could
provide inputs in determining possible areas where improvements in the teaching of science
and mathematics in SHS could be initiated.
 INTRODUCTION
Science and mathematics education has long been recognized as a major factor in
development, prompting nations to emphasize this in their national agenda. How students learn
and how to measure student performance in these areas is thus a priority concern of policy
makers and educators worldwide. One study that measures student performance in science and
mathematics which is generating increasing attention, is the Trends in Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS) which is being done since 1995 and every four years hence by the
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA).
In this study, a special TIMSS conducted by IEA in 2008 among students with advanced
preparation in science and mathematics in ten (10) countries including the Philippines will be
looked into. Specifically, Filipino students studying in science high schools will be
benchmarked as a whole, and disaggregated by type of SHS, against students in other
participating countries studying in schools with similar curriculum, which is designed to lead
students to science-oriented higher education courses. From the results, a set of implications
for the country’s educational system will be provided.
METHODOLOGY

• Sources of Data and Coverage

• Variables and Indicators
• Methods of Analysis
 SOURCES OF DATA AND
COVERAGE
The study made use of secondary data from the 2008 TIMSS or TIMSS-
Advanced which included the following ten (10) participating countries:
Armenia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Norway,
Philippines, Russian Federation, Slovenia and Sweden. Although the TIMSS-
Advanced also included school authorities and teachers as respondents and
covered areas such as demographic characteristics of the participating countries,
implemented curriculum, school factors and other teacher and student variables,
this study focused on the performance of the students in the assessment tests.
Moreover, only the mathematics results were presented inasmuch as the
Philippines did not participate in the science assessment. For the Philippines, a
total of 4,091 students in 118 SHS were covered.
 VARIABLES AND INDICATORS
In comparing the performance in mathematics of the ten (10)
participating countries, TIMSS assessment results are presented in
terms of scale scores, percent correct responses and scale scores
compared against the TIMSS Advanced benchmarks. The scale was
constructed in such a way that the score measures breadth of content
in advanced mathematics subjects and a range of cognitive processes
in the different domains. The measures, indicators, concepts used and
definitions are shown in Table 1.
 METHODS OF ANALYSIS
Achievement scores and other indicators used in comparing performance of the
participating countries were quoted from the TIMSS Advanced 2008 International
Report, while for the Philippines, further analysis was made to be able to make
comparisons by type of SHS. Mean scale scores were calculated and compared
against the benchmark level cut-offs to determine the percentage and which types
of SHS reached the Advanced and High levels. Percent correct responses for each
of the released items in mathematics by content domain and cognitive domain
were computed per SHS classification to determine the areas where each type of
SHS was strong or weak. Performance of the SHS in selected released items was
also examined. Data processing was done using PASW Statistics 18 and
descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data.
 BRIEF REVIEW OF TIMSS-
ADVANCED RESULTS
Results of the TIMSS-Advanced showed that among the ten (10) countries that
participated in the study, Russian Federation, got the highest average scale score
at 561, while the Philippines ranked 10th, with an average scale score of 355.
Compared with the other countries, the Philippines had the least number of years
of formal schooling and had the youngest students at the time of the assessment.
Coverage index, which is the estimate of the ratio of population of students
enrolled in schools with special curriculum to the population size of the entire
corresponding age cohort, was also lowest in the Philippines, indicating that only
a small percentage (0.7%) of the population makes it to the SHS. The most
liberal in the selection process for admission to schools offering special
curriculum in mathematics was Slovenia, which had a coverage index of 40.5%
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
General Description of SHS-Participants
• Six (6) types of Philippine high schools with special curriculum in science and mathematics
were identified and included in the conduct of the TIMSS-Advanced, and these were: (1)
Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System, (2) Regional Science High School, (3) S&T
Oriented High School, (4) University Rural High School/Laboratory Schools, (5) Other
Public Science High School and (6) Other High Schools (Private). Compared with the regular
high schools, the curriculum being followed in these schools were loaded with more
advanced science and mathematics subjects, although the length of time devoted to the
subjects and specific subjects vary by type. The curriculum for the PSHS System was
prepared by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), while that of the S&T
Oriented High School was customized by the Science Education Institute (SEI-DOST) in
consultation with the Department of Education (DepEd). Table 4 shows the profile of the
Filipino participants to the TIMSS-Advanced.
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
To assess the performance of Filipino students of SHS that participated in the 2008 TIMSS-
Advanced it is important to examine the performance of students by content areas and
cognitive domains and make comparison across types of schools in the Philippines and with
other participating countries. This section presents average percent correct responses in the
three content areas of the advanced mathematics framework: algebra, calculus, and
geometry, compared by SHS types in the Philippines and with other countries. Average
percent correct responses for each item in the three cognitive domains (i.e. knowing,
applying, and reasoning) is likewise presented. Knowing pertains to the student’s faculty
understanding of mathematical facts, concepts, tools, and procedures. Applying refers to the
student’s ability to make use of knowledge and conceptual understanding through problem
solving situation. Reasoning goes beyond the solution of routine problems to cover
unfamiliar situations, complex contexts, and multi-step problems.
 CONCLUSIONS
Indeed, science and mathematics education (SME) is an
essential factor for development recognized by most countries.
Thus, evaluation of SME through international assessment tests
are conducted to help countries examine how students perform
and identify educational areas for improvement. TIMSS-
advanced is the latest international assessment conducted by
IEA focusing on schools with special curriculum in science.
This is in addition to the regular TIMSS that IEA conducts
every four years since 1995.
 CONCLUSIONS
TIMSS advanced results showed that, in general, Philippines performed least among ten (10)
participating countries in mathematics overall and as well as in specific content areas and
cognitive domains in terms of average scale score and percent correct responses. Comparing
the scale scores of the students with the benchmark levels, only 1% of the Filipino students
reached the Advanced level.
Disaggregating by type of high school, however, presented a different picture: students from
PSHS seem to be able to compete internationally, surpassing students from some countries.
Aside from PSHS, Regional Science High School, Other Public SHS, and other Private HS
performed higher than the average Philippine achievement.
Filipino students did relatively better in Geometry than they did overall and relatively less
well in Calculus. All types of science high schools demonstrated better performance in
Geometry but weak performance in Calculus. On the cognitive domains, while Philippines in
general performed well in Knowing, it is worth noting that by type of SHS, PSHS and
Regional Science High School did well also in Reasoning.
 CONCLUSIONS
In all the content domains of advanced mathematics, namely, Algebra, Geometry
and Calculus and across all cognitive domains (Knowing, Applying and
Reasoning), the PSHS did remarkably better than the other type of SHS, even
outperforming some of the other participating countries. The one percent (1%)
over-all from the Philippines that reached the Advanced benchmark level mostly
came from PSHS, with a few coming from the Other Private HS. Moreover,
majority of the PSHS students reached the Intermediate benchmark level, which
is about mid-level among the participating countries. This reaffirms that the
PSHS System is indeed a model in science educational system in the country that
can compete internationally.