SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOLS LEAD PHILIPPINE SCHOOLS IN MATH TEST OF TIMSS 2003

Second Year High School students from three science and technology (S&T) oriented high schools who participated in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 performed better in mathematics compared to other Philippine sample students from private and public high schools. Their scores are also significantly higher than those of Australia, England, USA, India, Malaysia, and Russia.

The overall performance of Philippine schools in science and mathematics in TIMSS 2003 improved significantly compared to that of the 1999 study. This could be attributed to the fact that, unlike in the 1999 study where the 13 year old students who took the test were only in Grade 7 or First Year High School, majority of the sample students who took the test in 2003 were already at Second Year High School (since the entry age of Filipino students to Grade 1 was lowered from 7 years old to 6 years old in 1995).

Regional comparisons showed that Grade 4 students from Region IVA scored highest in mathematics and science, while Second Year high school students from CAR were the topnotchers in both subject areas. Regions which showed improvement in their performance in both subjects as compared to their 1999 achievement levels were CAR, Regions I, III, V, VII and XII. Overall achievement ratings revealed that students performed better in mathematics than in science at Grade 4, while at Second Year High School, performance in the two subject areas was almost the same. Students in the private schools scored higher than those in the public schools in both tests at both grade levels, except those from S&T oriented high schools who scored higher in mathematics.




The factors related to achievement were also assessed. In TIMSS 2003 , 4,572 Grade 4 students from 135 schools and 6,917 Second Year High School students from 137 schools participated by taking the achievement test in science and mathematics and by answering the student questionnaire. Teacher questionnaire and school questionnaire (which were answered by the school principals) were also used to determine how the identified factors relate to student performance. Such factors include school resources, instructional materials/equipment, computer use, class size, teacher qualification and language of test.

As expected, students whose schools had a high level of instructional resources performed better in both tests. Grade 4 mathematics students whose teachers used textbooks, computers and Internet in teaching had higher scores. Second Year High School students who used computers in their mathematics class also did better than those who did not. Ironically, those who did not have access to Internet and did not use calculators in their mathematics class scored higher than those who had such equipment in their class. In science, those with Internet access scored significantly higher than those who had no access. Computer use in both subjects may have contributed to better performance of students at both grade levels. Regarding class size, students at grade 4 whose class had only up to 32 students scored higher in mathematics than those whose class had 33 or more students. Second Year High School students with class size of up to 40 students (for both subjects) did better than those with a larger class size.

Teacher qualification revealed that for Grade 4 students, higher student achievement in science and mathematics was associated with the teachers having a graduate degree. The reverse emerged for Second Year High School students. The findings also revealed that teachers who are mathematics majors seem to handle Grade 4 and Second Year High School science and mathematics classes better than the science majors.

Those students who had the opportunity to speak English (the language of the test) at home had significantly higher achievement in both subjects at both grade levels.

Benchmarking the performance of Filipino students with their counterparts in other countries through TIMSS has always been the purpose for participating in this evaluation study. In TIMSS 1999, the Philippines ranked 36th in both mathematics and science among 38 participating countries. TIMSS 2003 placed the country 23rd among 25 countries for both Grade 4 science and mathematics, and 42nd in science and 41st in mathematics among 45 countries for Second Year High School. Looking at this trend, there seems to be no indication of improvement in the ranking of our students in TIMSS 1999 and 2003. However, the overall achievement of the Filipino 13 year old samples in the 2003 study revealed a significant improvement - from 345 mean score in both subjects in 1999 to 377 in science and 378 in mathematics in 2003. This could well be the result of a major educational policy reform on school entry age implemented in 1995.

TIMSS 2003 is the third in a series of international assessment study conducted every four years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) in Amsterdam and directed by Boston College in collaboration with a global network of organizations and representatives from participating countries. In the Philippines, TIMSS 2003 is being coordinated by an inter-agency group composed of representatives of the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI), the Department of Education (DepEd), and the UP National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (UP-NISMED). (Ruby R. Cristobal – S&T Media Service)

DOST POSTPONES S&T SCHOLARSHIP EXAMINATION

DOST POSTPONES S&T SCHOLARSHIP EXAM

The series of typhoons that has been hitting the country in the past days brought havoc to many of the residents particularly in the central and southern Luzon provinces. This has prompted the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) through its agency, the Science Education Institute (SEI), to move the schedule of the nationwide S&T Scholarship Examination from December 5, 2004 to January 9, 2005.

Thousands of graduating high school students have applied for the DOST scholarship programs. Qualifiers to the said S&T scholarships shall enjoy the privileges when they enter college next year. These include financial assistance to cover tuition and other school fees, stipends, uniform and book allowances. These future scholars are to pursue baccalaureate degree programs in priority science courses in selected universities and colleges.

There are more than 3,000 new S&T scholars admitted every year. This year, preparations are underway for screening next year’s new batch of scholars. The process includes the administration of the National S&T Scholarship Examination in various testing centers all over the country. However, the prevailing inclement weather conditions have affected thousands of families in the provinces and devastated many of the schools which are used as testing centers. Most of these schools in the severely affected regions are also used as evacuation centers.

The postponement is deemed necessary to give way for the more urgent and pressing needs of the families of the scholarship applicants and to ensure the safety of the participating students as well as the examiners and proctors who will be administering the examination. (Ruby R. Cristobal – S&T Media Service)

2004 Youth Achievers in Science: Real Heroes, Real Stories

Now let me give you guys a glimpse of the real people who made it to an international science competition -the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), held last summer in the USA. They are national and international winners. One of them is a Promil talent (Joy Anne) and her family background resembles faye's .

Here's the story we released to the media and posted on various sites:



SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR
US$3 million in scholarships and prizes were awarded at the Fair

Seven Filipino students won major awards at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, the world's largest pre-college science competition showcasing the world's most promising young scientists and inventors.


"A passion for science and mathematics ensures that many of these Intel ISEF finalists will become tomorrow's great scientists andinnovators," said Intel CEO Craig Barrett. "As these students complete their education and move into the workforc~, I hope they will collaborate across national boundaries to help cure diseases, protect the environment and develop breakthrough technologies that may one day change the world."

Joy Anne L. Aquino from E. Rodriguez Junior High School won the First Place from the American Veterinary Medical Association, and Fourth Place on the Grand Award for Medicine and Health, for her project entitled Biologically-Guided Isolation of the Antimicrobial Component on the Sea-Snake Laticauda colubrina Schneider Venom. Aquino, who extracted a new antimicrobial drug from sea snakes, brought home a total of US$I,500 in cash awards.

Two team delegates also scored victories for the Philippines from Manila Science and Quezon City Science High Schools. Both teams focused on environmental science, particularly pollution control, in theirprojects. The Manila Science High School team developed an electrode from green mussels that can detect the presence of lead in bodies of water. The Quezon City Science High School team, on the other hand, explored the effectiveness of an endemic water-borne bacteria called Vibrio Fischeri as pollutionindicator. Vibrio Fischeri glows when exposed to contaminants.
Alan Ray E. Gonzalez, Maria Katrina Rivera, and Anne Margrette Velasquez from Manila Science High School won a Third Place Grand Award for their project entitled Development of a Chemically Modified Carbon Paste Electrode from Green Mussels (Perna viridis) for the Analysis of Lead (II) through Voltammetry.


Meanwhile, Quezon City Science High School's Trina Napasindayao, Melanie Melchor and Jayson Reggie Obos won a Fourth Grand Award for their project entitled Simple, Rapid, and Inexpensive Dissolved Oxygen Determination of Wastewater Samples Using the Tube Bioluminescence Extinction Method of Vibrio Fischeri USTCMS At the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, top prize winners and named as Intel Young Scientists are Sarah Rose Langberg of Fort Myers, Florida; Uwe Treske of Grafenhainichen, Germany; and Yuanchen Zhu of Shanghai, China. The three teens prevailed over more than 1,300 students from all over the world.

Langberg, 17, won a top prize for her Earth and Space Sciences project titled, "Petrology, Morphology and Geochemistry of the Southern Juan de Fuca Ridge." Langberg conducted chemical investigations, ran a mathematical simulation and studied video footage from the ocean floor in her effort to explain the distinct features that characterize one of the earth's most active volcanic regions.
Treske's top prize resulted from his Physics project titled, "Low-cost Scanning Tunneling Microscope." To develop an inexpensive but powerful microscope that delivers an improvement in resolution over a normal light microscope, Treske, 18, used common materials such as a tungsten filament from light bulbs, recycled Styrofoam blocks and a standard PC sound card for digitizing the measuring signal.
Zhu, 19, won a top prize for his Computer Science project titled, "Real-Time Remeshing With Optimally Adapting Domain: A New Scheme for View-Dependent Continuous Levels-of-Detail Mesh Rendering." Zhu developed a method for generating high-quality, three-dimensional computer graphics that improves the level of detail while speeding up the time required for rendering precise images.
More than 500 students received scholarships and prizes at the Intel ISEF. Sponsored by Intel since 1997, the ISEF is the biggest gathering of youth science and math enthusiasts from all around the globe. The students that competed in Portland this year emerged from a worldwide field of several million science fair participants during the past academic year. They then went on to compete with over 65,000 students at more than 500 regional Intel ISEF -affiliated science fairs around the world to win the right to attend the Intel ISEF.
Intel's sponsorship ofthe Intel ISEF is part of the Intel@ Innovation in Education initiative, a sustained commitment - in collaboration with educators and government leaders worldwide - to help prepare students to succeed in a knowledge-based economy.

for bloggers atbp. on the "never ending story of faye"

I was amazed at how this story affected so many people. I am from DOST and I posted the media advisory as part of my job. I guess so many lessons can be learned from this story... for the writers and journalists, for us in government, for bloggers and for faye and her mom, cathy. I did my job in DOST as part of the team who validated their claims. Now, I am posting this message on my own. While it took us sometime to verify the truth behind each and every detail written in the story, I knew then that there was something wrong with the details given by faye's mother when I interviewed her. Truly, Patricia could have used her interview with mother and daughter to verify from independent sources. This is the most logical thing to do....and what is actually taught in journalism school. But let's give patricia a break, as Dick Pascual has mentioned in his column today, "Everybody commits mistakes."

I am writing to thank you guys for having the brains and the guts to question or simply write about issues like this one. We in the government recognize our shortcomings. We try our best to promote the achievements of the young, talented youth in science and technology. But we need the media, the private sector, the NGOs and people like you to help us. I have written a lot about these young kids and also about our brilliant scholars (like Jeffrey Hidalgo, a DOST scholar-graduate) but only a few publish such stories. I hope this "never ending faye story" will change the mindset of the media people.

Lastly, I'd like to request everyone to just try to understand faye's situation now that the truth has been revealed. She is just a child and whoever and whatever prompted her to do what she did, let us think that she still has many growing up years ahead. Let us hope and pray that this does not get too deeply into her psyche and affect her character and disposition later on.

results of government's validation of the faye nicole san juan story

Contact Person: Ruby Cristobal
Science Education Institute-DOST
8390241
rrc@sei.dost.gov.ph


MEDIA ADVISORY
12 November 2004



The story of Faye Nicole San Juan, a Grade 6 student of St. James College of Quezon City, has been recently the subject of discussions in the Internet, electronic mails, articles, opinion columns, TV and radio programs. As claimed in these reports, Faye won first place in the Intercontinental Science Quiz Net in Brisbane, Australia besting 56 students all over the world, and the Best Physics award which she received in Sydney, Australia. It was also told that she was among the Top Five winners in Mathematics for the Young Asians held in Indonesia.

We, at the Science Education Institute (SEI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), have been alerted to this issue prompting us to validate the claims of the girl and her mother, Ms. Ma. Catherine San Juan. This is in line with the agency’s mandate to support, nurture and recognize talents in science, mathematics and technology. The validation procedure is a process adopted to verify the awards received by individuals for competitions which are not coordinated by the Institute.

Unfortunately, the information we have gathered from various sources, including our professional counterpart in Australia, do not support the claims of Faye and her mother. We have likewise invited the young girl and Ms. San Juan through the principal of St. James College, Mr. Arnel B. Salgado, to present valid proofs of the girl’s awards. However, Ms. San Juan declined the invitation.

Although SEI-DOST would like to give Faye the recognition befitting an outstanding young achiever in science and mathematics, we are constrained by the fact that her story as presented in the media lacks merit in terms of valid proofs and the absence of any indication that the competitions cited truly exist.




(SGD.) ESTER B. OGENA
Director, SEI-DOST

On Faye's story... unearthing the truth

About Faye's story.... I belong to the office mandated to identify, nurture and recognize science and math talents in the country. We are doing our best to verify the awards received by Faye. We will soon release an advisory and do what is best considering all the issues presented. It's true that we find it difficult to obtain the facts. However, we have contacted the entities who can shed light on this issue as part of our validation process. But the process takes quite some time since what we are getting are official documents.