ABSTRACT
This study focused on determining the effectiveness of Simplified Materials for Intervention and Learning Enhancement (SMILE) in the performance level of Grade 7 students in Mathematics. Thirty-one (31) students were the respondents of this study selected based on the result of the pre-test administration using the latest Numeracy Assessment Tool (NuMAT) - Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) which was introduced by the Division of Rizal. The research participants were identified under the emergent numerate level adopting the standard numeracy level of learners agreed by all Education Program Supervisors in Mathematics of the region IV-A CALABARZON (Division Memorandum no. 599 s. 2022).
This employed a one group pre-test post-test experimental design. At the start of the intervention, pre-test was administered to the students which was used to compare with the post-test result after the implementation of the intervention program. The results of the pre-test and post-test were consolidated. T-test was used to determine the difference between the pre-test and post-test results. Mean and standard deviation were utilized to determine the average level of performance of the students before and after exposure to the developed intervention material.
The pre-test showed that out of 31 students 81% (25 students) fall under emergent level and 19% (6 students) fall under non-numerate level. While on the post-test result, out of 30 students 73% (22) fall under numerate level and 27% (8) fall under emergent level. Data results indicated a substantial difference between the test outcomes, indicating the efficacy of the SMILE of Grade 7 students in Mathematics.
The researchers planned to include the 27% of the students who were retained to emergent numerate level on the next intervention program to enhance their academic performance and raise their numeracy level. The result of the study was presented to the teachers at Jose F. Diaz Memorial National High School particularly to the math department during the LAC session. The Simplified Materials for Intervention and Learning Enhancement (SMILE) can be used to Grade 7 students this school year in the intervention class with minor revision depending on the numeracy level of the students.
Keywords: Numeracy level, simplified intervention materials, simplified, numerate, emergent
INTRODUCTION
Education is a critical factor in human capital development. It is important that it provides private returns to individuals in the form of increased productivity and higher wages, as well as social returns in terms of economic growth and achieving development outcomes for a country including reduction in mortality rates, higher life expectancy, and poverty reduction, among others.
In the Philippines, the importance of education is recognized through the pertinent provision in the 1987 Philippine Constitution stating that “The State shall protect and promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all” (Article XIV Section 1). It should be emphasized that this provision unpacks two critical elements to education: accessibility and quality.
Two recent landmark education reforms were put in place, consistent with this overall mandate, in terms of enhancing the basic education in the country. One is the Republic Act No. 10157 otherwise known as the Kindergarten Act of 2012. It integrated the kindergarten level into the basic education, making it a prerequisite to entering the first grade of elementary. Then the Republic Act No. 10533 otherwise known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 was passed into law on May 15, 2013, a legislation that mandated an additional two years of secondary school to augment the goals of high school education in preparation for tertiary level, vocational and technical employment opportunities. These two laws together comprise the K to 12 Basic Education Program, making the total number of years of basic education to thirteen.
The education sector in the province of Rizal has made significant improvements in achieving universal access to basic education. Specifically, net enrollment rates had increased from 95.56 percent in 2015 to the latest data of 99.42 percent as of school year 2019-2020 in the elementary level. In the secondary level, there were some challenges in retaining students, thus a lower net enrollment rate of 81.57 percent at this level as of 2020. Notwithstanding, this had already increased, considering that it was only 76.74 percent in 2015 (Rizal-Division Education Development Plan 2023-2028).
These numbers show a positive picture on increasing overall access to basic education in the country. Ideally, these should translate also to enhanced quality and learning outcomes.
However, some overall international and national achievement test scores showed weak performance of students. In 2018, the Philippines participated in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for the first time and ranked lowest in reading comprehension, and second lowest in Math and Science, among 79 participating countries. In the 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Philippines also ranked lowest among 58 countries included in the study.
Furthermore, Learning Outcome Assessment (LOA) conducted during the last two school years 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 revealed that among all subjects, Mathematics ranked lowest in terms of average student grades, consolidated for all Grade levels. This broader context provided a motivation for this action research. It is important that the increase in access to education in the form of enrollment rates – the “quantity” – must be accompanied by improved learning outcomes – the “quality”. By shedding light on the state of student performance, it becomes an urgent call to action for the education sector to diagnose the root causes of poor learning outcomes and design appropriate interventions to address the learning crisis.
It is worthy to recognize that in the attainment of quality education, foundational skills are imperative since they encompass the knowledge and abilities necessary to support long-term achievement. Delay on acquiring the basic skills will make it difficult for the students to achieve a higher level of competency. Among others, foundational skills include numeracy, literacy, and socio-emotional skills.
Literacy has traditionally been characterized as the ability to read and write (Chew 2012). Students who are unable to read effectively struggle to understand important concepts, perform poorly on tests, and ultimately fail to meet educational goals.
From UNESCO (2023), literacy is a progression of learning and expertise in reading, writing, and using numbers all through life and is part of a larger set of skills, which include digital skills, media literacy, education for sustainable development and global citizenship as well as job-specific skills. As individuals interact with information and learn through digital technology, more and more literacy skills are growing and developing.
Meanwhile, Manchester University regarded numeracy as the ability to work with numbers, including the use of mathematical formulas such as multiplication, division, ratios, and percentages. Furthermore, numeracy entails understanding how mathematics is used in the real world and being able to apply it to make the best decisions.
As mandated by the Department of Education (DepEd) in its DepEd Order No. 8 s. 2015, a student who achieves a grade of less than 75 in all learning areas must take remedial classes and pass them to advance to the next grade level. Remedial instruction or enrichment sessions should be given to students who have momentarily fallen behind in their academics or who otherwise need short-term support in their learning. These notions gave the researchers the idea to assess the effectiveness of the developed Simplified Materials for Intervention and Learning Enhancement (SMILE) in the performance level of Grade 7 students in Mathematics.
Intervention materials are highly recognized as effective tools for improving students’ low academic performance. Dumigsi and Cabrella (2019) stated that before the K to 12 Basic Education Program was implemented, materials for intervention were highly considered as means for remediating poor achievements of the students. Subsequently, Strategic Intervention Materials (SIM) was introduced to teaching methods to revitalize the students and increase their understanding level.
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