The reports, citing data from the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (PHIL-IRI), claimed that more than 70,000 students from Grade 1 to senior high school in Bicol “cannot read”. ADVERTISEMENTPHIL-IRI is an informal reading inventory consisting of graded passages designed to determine a student’s performance in oral reading, silent reading, and listening comprehension. According to the education chief, PHIL-IRI is an annual diagnostic tool used by DepEd to ascertain the student’s level of comprehension and to determine if their level of understanding is appropriate for their school level. “At saka iyong paggamit ng … iyong precision in the use of the words ‘do not know how to read,’ hindi ibig sabihing ‘no read, no write’. So iba’t-ibang level iyan.”(And also…the precision in the use of the words ‘do not know how to read’, that doesn’t mean ‘no read, no write’.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 17, 2020 06:56 UTC