Assessment of the Reading Curriculum in Basic Education in the Philippines Context

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the reading curriculum in Philippine basic education. It specifically focused on determining the reading competencies, the approaches in reading instruction and assessments before and during COVID-19, and the alignment of the written and intended to the implemented and assessed curriculum. This qualitative research employed the following data gathering techniques: document analysis, online focus group discussion, and constructive alignment checklist. Findings reveal that the basic education curriculum includes reading competencies categorized into text processing and task management competencies. In terms of the reading levels, it was found that there are more instructional readers than independent readers in basic education. Further, a number of students from different year levels, including in the secondary level, were also found to be non-readers. Regarding the approaches to reading instruction and assessment, the approaches were more extensive, varied, and teacher-directed before the COVID-19 pandemic involving class and group dynamics, while in the new normal, teachers employed self-paced/independent reading using printed modules and a few digital reading resources. Finally, the curriculum assessment reveals that there is generally a low alignment between the written, assessed, and delivered curriculum in reading. This implies that there are learning outcomes specified in the K-12 curriculum guide that have not been processed and assessed by teachers.