Moreover, based on National Achievement Test scores from 2017-2018, DepEd found that junior high students move up grade levels despite having low proficiency - for example, only 1% of students are proficient in Mathematics, while those proficient in English are only at 3% (DepEd, 2022).
On the level of international assessments, the country's results in the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2018, the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2019, and the first cycle of the Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics also In 2019, highlighted the poor level of students' learning.
In all three assessments, more than 80% of students fell below minimum levels of proficiency in their respective grades in science and mathematics (de Vera, 2021).
In response to the need for learning continuity and the augmentation of early grade Literacy and Numeracy competencies during the pandemic, Philippine Business for Education, in partnership with Accenture Philippines, launched Kiddie Learning Train (KIT) In June 2021.
KLT was designed based on existing evidence that using education technology coupled with tutors or para-teachers with Bachelor of Science in Education background, and grouping students based on learning levels can improve learning outcomes. In addition, KIT was also intended to serve as a model for a volunteer-run remedial program by encouraging Education students and graduates to participate.
The project was implemented for underperforming primary grade students in Metro Cebu, Philippines, from June 2021 to February 2022. They started as Kinder to Grade 3 students, and finished the program as Grade 1 to 4 students, as the project Implementation straddled two school years.
