Angara tells Quezon teachers: Turn research into classroom action

By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara joins teachers and education officials during the final l...

By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino

Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara joins teachers and education officials during the final leg of the Quezon Educators’ Research Convention 2026 at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City. (Sonny Angara)

LUCENA CITY, Quezon - Better test scores will not be enough unless schools turn evidence into earlier intervention and stronger support for learners struggling inside and outside the classroom, Education Secretary Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara told Quezon educators. He warned that recent gains could lose momentum unless schools use classroom data to close reading and numeracy gaps while confronting bullying, mental-health risks and other pressures that keep students from learning.

Around 5,100 public school teachers from Quezon’s Third District gathered at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City on September 20 for the final leg of the Quezon Educators’ Research Convention 2026. The Cluster 5 gathering brought together teachers, researchers, school heads and education officials under the theme “Pagkakaisa sa Kaalaman, Kapayapaang Hatid ay Kaunlaran.”

Figures presented during the convention showed the Philippines improving from 340 to 367 in reading, 353 to 371 in mathematics and 357 to 373 in science in the 2025 Programme for International Student Assessment. For Quezon schools, those national gains sharpen the challenge of sustaining progress through stronger reading, numeracy and remediation programs built around what teachers see in their own classrooms.

“Isa tayo, isa po ang Pilipinas sa walong bansa na tumaas sa tatlong domain, sa reading, sa math, and sa science, at walong bansa lang ho sa halos isang daang bansa na lumahok po sa PISA. We are one of eight, kaya let's not waste that momentum and let's build on the gains that we have achieved here at PISA,” Angara said.

Angara also cited the first year of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning or ARAL Program, saying 6.7 million learners were considered for remediation or underwent its reading intervention. He said 4.5 million improved their reading level while 2.2 million were already reading at the appropriate level.

The national recovery drive now reaches Quezon through the decisions teachers and school heads make about which learners need help and which interventions deserve to be continued, changed or expanded. QERC gives local educators a venue to test those choices against evidence rather than rely only on broad programs or uniform solutions.

More than 170 papers were considered for presentation during the convention, with selected studies covering concerns such as climate change and disaster resilience. Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Aris S. Barago also urged educators to focus on student safety, reading and numeracy so findings can lead to practical interventions rather than remain confined to presentations.

Schools Division Superintendent Romel Bautista likewise challenged teachers to remain sources of motivation while making school interventions responsive to individual learners. He pointed to the identification of non-readers and students struggling with numeracy as necessary steps before schools determine which programs should be applied.

The discussion then moved beyond academic performance as Angara raised concerns over bullying, harmful online influences and the emotional pressures faced by young people. He said schools need to understand learners more closely because serious problems affecting behavior and learning may never appear in test scores, attendance records or report cards.

“Although our performance in academics and international rankings is good, let's take a step back and examine how we are relating, what kind of school communities we are building in our schools. Let's make an effort to know not just the names of our students, but also their personal circumstances and how long it takes them to commute to go to school,” Angara said.

Teacher-led responses to learning gaps were also recognized, including “Unang Hakbang sa Pagbasa” developed by Master Teacher II Malou Ramos of San Antonio District for Stage 1 learners. The material showed how classroom experience can be turned into tools that directly address weaknesses in foundational reading.

The convention’s local value rests on whether these findings influence actual school decisions across Quezon’s Third District. Studies on reading, numeracy, safety, disaster resilience and learner welfare can help schools choose interventions, develop materials and direct limited resources toward students who need them most.

Gov. Angelina “Helen” Tan said the Provincial Government of Quezon has also relied on learning data to determine where local education interventions should be concentrated. She cited Project KIT Bibo as part of the province’s literacy and numeracy response designed to complement programs already being carried out by DepEd and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

“So, when I first arrived in 2022, I gathered all the data and I asked Sir Romel and the management to present how Quezon's performance when it comes to literacy and numeracy. So we continued Project Bibo, there is no duplication but a complementation of the effort of DSWD and DepEd,” Tan said.

Provincial support has also extended to classrooms, school furniture, computers, books and other learning resources as the local government works with DepEd in addressing school needs. Tan said the response must also reach learners whose concerns require health, social-service or other specialized assistance beyond what teachers can provide.

“All you have to do is to reach out, contact them, and your effort is communication and coordination. So we have navigators in place in all municipalities, so there's no reason na ma-displace po o hindi ninyo ma-avail ang services ng Provincial Government of Quezon,” Tan said.

The province also maintains a mental-health crisis hotline that assesses callers and helps direct them to appropriate professionals when further intervention is needed. Tan urged teachers and families to use the available referral system when learner concerns involve conditions that cannot be resolved through classroom intervention alone.

QERC 2026 ultimately brought national learning gains down to the level where they must be sustained: individual schools confronting different learners, resources and community conditions. Reading and numeracy remain central, but the convention also showed that safety, mental health, family circumstances and digital exposure can determine whether academic interventions succeed.

The harder test begins when teachers return to their classrooms and decide what to do with what they learned during the convention. Evidence becomes consequential when it changes instruction, triggers earlier intervention and helps schools reach learners before academic or personal difficulties become harder to reverse.