Research firm Capstone-Intel Corporation has raised concerns over the recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, which placed Filipino students among the bottom five in creative thinking. The firm highlighted the need to improve the education system to ensure global competitiveness.
From June 18 to 25, Capstone-Intel conducted a sentiment analysis on public Facebook pages. The analysis revealed that the ‘Sad’ reaction dominated at 46.9%, followed by ‘Haha’ at 24.4% and ‘Like’ at 23.1%. This analysis covered up to two petabytes of Facebook data.
Ella Kristina Coronel, research director at Capstone-Intel, noted that the public sentiment on social media provides valuable insights into the PISA test results in creative thinking. She mentioned that developing creative thinking has become more complex due to digital acceleration, AI, and social media.
The PISA creative thinking test assessed students from 81 countries on their ability to generate original and diverse ideas in simple tasks or everyday problem-solving situations. Students from Singapore, Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia, and Finland scored highest, while Albania, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, Morocco, and the Dominican Republic were the lowest-performing countries.
Coronel pointed out that the OECD report, which includes these PISA results, dominated public discussions on Facebook with up to 104 daily posts during the analysis period. There were 359 posts on PISA, generating 32,232 comments, 50,127 shares, and 128,514 reactions, resulting in an engagement score of 66,201.6.
The OECD report emphasized that effective classroom pedagogies are crucial for developing students’ creativity. High-scoring students reported that their teachers encouraged original answers and allowed them to express ideas in school. Participation in school activities like art, drama, creative writing, or programming classes at least once a week was also associated with better performance in creative thinking.
Coronel stressed the importance of using PISA results to evaluate and elevate educational standards, stating that creativity is innate and cannot be replaced. She emphasized that developing students’ creativity is a shared responsibility among parents, communities, and schools.
The PISA assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading, and science, focusing on their ability to solve complex problems, think critically, and communicate effectively. The Philippines first participated in PISA in 2018. By comparing results internationally, policymakers and educators in the Philippines can learn from other countries’ policies and practices.
In the latest PISA test on creative thinking, only 3% of Filipino students matched the average skills of students in top-ranked Singapore, highlighting significant deficiencies. Between June 18 and 25, Capstone-Intel identified 359 posts on PISA with 32,232 comments, 50,127 shares, and 128,514 reactions, leading to an engagement score of 66,201.6.
The highest ‘Sad’ reaction came from a post by Philstar.com, which garnered 21,304 ‘Sad’ reactions with an engagement score of 27,145.9. This post highlighted the Philippines’ low ranking in the PISA creative thinking test.
The PISA assessment measures students’ ability to generate, evaluate, and improve ideas in creative writing, visual expression, scientific problem-solving, and social problem-solving. The 2022 PISA results showed that the Philippines ranked sixth lowest among the 81 participating countries, with Filipino learners continuing to lag in reading, math, and science.
