DepEd to assess English skills of grade school teachers

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Education (DepEd) will assess the English skills and other proficiencies of Grades 1 and 2 teachers in public schools to map out a training program to prepare them for the implementation of the Kindergarten to 12 (K-12) basic education curriculum (BEC).

Education Secretary Armin Luistro said that DepEd is currently administering the Test of English Proficiency (TEPT) and Process Skills Test (PST) in Science and Math to all teachers of Grades 1 and 2 nationwide.

The tests, according to Luistro, are part of DepEd’s assessment on the capability of public school teachers to teach the new curriculum under the K-12 BEC.

The Grade 1 and first year high school curriculum will debut when classes open in June 2012.

“We want our teachers fully equipped when we introduce the new curriculum this school year,” Luistro explained.

He pointed out the results of the TEPT and PST would serve as basis for the kind of training and intervention the DepEd will introduce this summer to prepare the teachers for the new curriculum.

The tests started last Feb. 5 for teachers in the National Capital Region (NCR). Last Sunday, teachers from Region IV-A (CALABARZON) and Region IV-B (MIMAROPA) took the tests.

On Feb. 19, teachers in the Ilocos Region and Cagayan Valley are scheduled to take the test; Feb. 26 for Regions 5 and 9; March 11 for Region 12; March 18 for Regions 6 and CARAGA; March 25 for Northern Mindanao and Davao Region; April 1 for Regions 7 and 8; April 15 for Central Luzon and CAR and April 22 for ARMM.

DepEd jumpstarted K-12 last year when it introduced the universal kindergarten program in all public schools. K-12, as envisioned by DepEd, aims to produce high school graduates who have the competency to land a job and to be better prepared for college education and global opportunities.

Aside from mandatory kindergarten or pre-school, the K-12 program seeks to add additional two years of senior high school, extending the previous 10-year BEC with six years of elementary and four years of high school to a 12-year BEC, with six years of elementary, four years of junior high school, and two years of senior high school. –Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star)