100%
No Child left Behind Benedictine Institute of Learning commits itself to deliver the best programs for its prime stakeholders - the students - in ensuring that the transfer of learning is evident and delivered with utmost expectancy that no children will be left uneducated, most especially, in reading.
FLUENT READERS
A R O
ing arn f Le o e ut stit e In n i t dic ene of B n tio TRAILBLAZERS. Bro. Ricky Aguirre, Educational Consultant from the Department of ica ubl Education, trained the BIL literacy leaders, alongside with the Education Program P l o Supervisors (EPS) of the Division of City Schools in Imus and Dasmariñas, in relation to o h c the addressing of the alarming numbers of non-readers in the country. S l cia fi f O
A R O The
BIL Students who have undergone initial testing of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) are
B A L et
70,000
elementary students in the Bicol Region “CANNOT READ” (Source: DepEd Philippines)
READ TO LEAD. Dr. Gina T. Pira, BIL Academic Coordinator, pilot-tests the EGRA as a measuring tool to Grade 3 pupils of BIL, as part of the school’s commitment to upgrade the pupils’ reading skills.
D
espite disheartening reports regarding the declining reading literacy in the Philippines, Benedictine Institute of Learning continues to live up to its mission of upholding academic excellence as initial results of pilot testing show a remarkable profile of proficient readers.
To recall, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reports that the Philippines ranked among the lowest out of 79 countries in the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam. Meanwhile, a recent report from the Department of Education (DepEd) shows more than 70,000 elementary students in Bicol “cannot read” in both English and Filipino. In response to these alarming reports, the literacy leaders of BIL, together with the Education Program Supervisors of DepEd Imus City and Dasmariñas City, have undergone training under the guidance of Bro. Ricky Aguirre, DepEd Educational Consultant, in assessing the reading skills of young readers. Bro. Aguirre explained the purpose and components of the modified Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) for the Philippines – an individually administered oral assessment that aims to assess foundational literacy skills of children in the early grades. It was adapted by the DepEd following international standards and guidelines. Assessors use EGRA
to evaluate the primary skills which include: Orientation to Print, Listening Comprehension, Oral Language Reading Comprehension, Letter Name Knowledge, Letter Sound Knowledge, Initial Sound
“I have known Benedictine Institute of Learning since 2009 and I have known the whole school community taking the needs of their students quite seriously. But as we initially administered the Philippine contextualized EGRA in English for the primary level, I was astounded by the reading proficiency of their Grade 3 pupils; all are readers in its total essence. Whatever their Preelementary and Primary level teachers are doing, I think they are giving reading and literacy an utmost importance in their pupils learning.”
Bro. Ricky Aguirre
DepEd Education Consultant
Identification, Familiar Word Reading, Invented Word Reading and Dictation. After the training session, assessors administered the modified EGRA Philippines tool to a sample of students from
What is Early GRAde reading assessment (egra)?
T
the primary department of BIL. Results show that a staggering 100% of the students who have undergone initial testing are fluent readers. This means that their oral language reading is fully developed. On the other hand, most comprehension questions, if not all, have been answered by the sample population. It is important to note that reading is not just decoding the sounds of the words but also understanding the text. As the results show, BIL students are not only able to decode words but can also understand what they are reading. Supervisors have observed that BIL students are indeed proficient readers. BIL gives emphasis to the importance of reading as it recognizes the vital role of reading as an essential tool for learning not only in English and Filipino but across all other subjects. The school administration will be using the EGRA to profile its young learners, to determine their individual needs and address them by modifying and innovating instruction, and to ensure that “No Child Left Behind.” OL
Source: USAid Global Reading Network
he Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) Toolkit is the product of ongoing collaboration among a large community of scholars, practitioners, government officials, and education development professionals to advance the cause of early reading assessment and acquisition among primary school children in low-income countries. In the interest of consolidating diverse Ministry or Department of Education staff, experiences and developing a reasonably donor staff, practitioners, and professionals standardized approach to assessing in the field of education development. children’s early reading acquisition, this The document, in 12 sections, seeks to “toolkit,” or user manual, serves as a guide summarize a large body of research in for countries beginning to work with an accessible manner. The procedures EGRA in such areas as local adaptation of described in this toolkit are to be used the instrument, fieldwork, and analysis of in all USAID-funded administrations of results EGRA and, it is hoped, in all other EGRA This toolkit is intended for use by administrations as well. OL
TAKING PART. Education Program Supervisors (EPS) from the Division of City Schools of Imus City and Dasmariñas City, Benedictine Literacy Leaders and Benedictine Grade Three pupils partake in the said EGRA training to provide learners with enough attention in terms of its reading program implementations.
ARTICLES BY: John Lour G. Flores | PHOTOS BY: Bergie M. Jeciel and Dr. Cielo J. Valenzuela | LAYOUT BY: Kim Joshua G. Daño