87% of Grade 11 Students Struggle to Read on Their Own

The Department of Education has acknowledged the severity of the country’s literacy crisis after an assessment found that 87% of Grade 11 students are classified as non-independent readers. Only 12.58% were able to read and comprehend texts independently at the level expected of senior high school learners.

The findings come just weeks after DepEd reported significant gains in literacy and numeracy, noting that the number of struggling readers had declined  from 6.7 million to 2.2 million. Despite this progress, millions of learners across the country still require intervention.

The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) reported the figures based on an assessment of 1.4 million Grade 11 learners nationwide. Out of those assessed, roughly 1.3 million were classified as either instructional readers or frustration readers. Most Grade 11 students are between 16 and 17 years old and are approaching college, technical training, or entry-level employment.

“Gusto kong sabihin na 87 is no small number,” DepEd Undersecretary for Learning Systems Carmela Oracion said.

She further stressed that the problem did not start at the senior high school level but has accumulated over many years. “A bit of background on this, actually for the past few years, meron tayong iyong assessments na Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) for Key Stage 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3) and then Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) for Key Stages 2 and 3 (Grades 4 to 6, up to 10). And then last year, we saw that the results were very bad.”

“I’d like to state very clearly that DepEd recognizes that this is very serious."

According to Oracion,  the literacy points to long-standing learning deficits that began in the early grades and grew worse over time, possibly due to a combination of both social and educational factors.

“When a Grade 11 learner…struggles to read independently, it signals that the problem did not start in senior high school…This is a cumulative gap that has come to be over a period of time,” she said.

“Whatever problem we are facing now, as indicated by the assessment results, is really a broader failure of the education system. I will not say that it is a broader failure of the K-12 system.”

The assessment categorized students according to their reading proficiency.

Instructional readers can read texts successfully but still need support to fully understand them. They can decode most words correctly and grasp some of the content, but they often benefit  from explanations, vocabulary support, or guided reading. They may still struggle with complex passages, abstract ideas, or unfamiliar topics.

Frustration readers, meanwhile, struggle significantly with both reading and comprehension. They may misread words, read slowly or hesitantly, and find it difficult to understand what they have read. Many become discouraged by reading tasks and are unable to independently handle grade-level texts. They may finish reading a page but struggle to identify the main idea, recall important details, or answer basic comprehension questions. For older students, these difficulties can affect performance across multiple subjects, including science, math, social studies, and technical-vocational courses.

Independent readers can accurately read and comprehend texts on their own.

Earlier this May, DepEd reported encouraging results from its  learning recovery initiatives.

Based on data from the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), Rapid Math Assessment (RMA), and Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) for School Year 2025-2026, around 4.5 million learners who began the year as struggling readers improved their  proficiency by the end of the school year.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara attributed the gains to targeted literacy and numeracy interventions.

“Our goal is to strengthen the entire learning recovery pipeline—from the earliest grades through senior high—so that early literacy success translates into lasting proficiency and genuine readiness for the world beyond recognition,” Angara said.

DepEd reported that the number of struggling readers declined from 6.7 million at the start of the school year, to 2.2 million by year’s end. The number learners classified as “not proficient” or “low proficient” in Math also fell significantly, from 13 million to 6.8 million.

The DepEd hopes to sustain these gains through the implementation of its new three-term school calendar, which will take effect this coming school year.

The reform is one of the department’s most significant structural changes in recent years. It reorganizes the school year from the traditional four grading periods or quarters, into three longer academic terms.

Officials say the change is designed to reduce disruptions, provide longer and more focused learning periods, and give teachers more time to reinforce foundational skills such as literacy and numeracy.

The signs your child has a reading problem at 3 to 9 years old.