Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region VI – Western Visayas
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF ILOILO
BANCAL NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Brgy. Bancal, Alimodian, Iloilo

NATIONAL READING PROGRAM

By: Kiev Almira

January 24, 2024

 Every Child A Reader Program
(ECARP)
The ECARP is a national program that addresses
the thrust of DepED to make every Filipino child a
reader at his/her own level. It is designed to equip
elementary pupils with strategic reading and writing
skills to make them independent young readers and
writers. It also provides a year-long training for
teachers to make them multi-literate and
independent problem solvers.
 Every Child A Reader Program
(ECARP)
The ECARP is the DepEd’s flagship reading
program dating back to 2001 which “enforces the
policy that every child should be a reader by
Grade 3 and that no child shall be promoted to
the next higher grade unless he/she manifests
mastery of basic literacy skills” (DepEd
Memorandum No. 324, series of 2004).
 When was ECARP established?

The Bureau of Elementary Education (BEE)

and regional and division offices have launched
in 2001 the "Every Child A Reader Program"
(ECARP). This program aims to enable elementary
grades pupils to communicate and access a variety
of information in written and oral forms through
effective reading instruction.
 What is the purpose of National
Reading Program?
This program will "promote literacy
development from Key Stages 1 to 3." It will
have two tiers: a core reading program and a
supplemental reading program. It will be
held at the end of the school year and is
sustained in the regular school year.
3Bs (Bawat Bata Bumabasa)
In pursuant to DepEd memorandum no. 173 s.
2019, the 3Bs initiative will help strengthen the
Every Child a Reader Program (ECARP) which
primarily aims “to equip learners with reading
skills to make them proficient and independent
readers in their grade level.”
WHY ARE THERE NO NON-
READERS IN GRADE 2 IN
PRIVATE SCHOOLS WHILE
THERE ARE PUBLIC
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
GRADUATES WHO CANNOT
READ?
Answer is…
Private schools stick to the “No Read, No Move” Policy
under which no pupil who cannot read can move to Grade 2
while public schools no longer practice any reading cut off
policy. The Department of Education (DepEd) switched
from the “No Read, No Move” Policy to the “Zero Non-
reader in Grade 4” Policy in the early 2000s but eventually
stopped the enforcement of any reading cut off. The K to
12 Curriculum does not have a reading cut off unlike all
previous curricula.
AS A RESULT…
OECD’s Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA)
In response to that question and to the need for
internationally comparable evidence on student
performance, the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) launched the
Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA) in 1997 and the first assessment was
conducted in 2000.
- https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
 OECD’s Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA)
PISA is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students around the
world that assesses the extent to which they have acquired
key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in
social and economic life. PISA assessments do not just
ascertain whether students near the end of their compulsory
education can reproduce what they have learned; they also
examine how well students can extrapolate from what they
have learned and apply their knowledge in unfamiliar
settings, both in and outside of school. - https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
 OECD’s Programme for International Student
Assessment (PISA)
PISA is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students around the
world that assesses the extent to which they have acquired
key knowledge and skills essential for full participation in
social and economic life. PISA assessments do not just
ascertain whether students near the end of their compulsory
education can reproduce what they have learned; they also
examine how well students can extrapolate from what they
have learned and apply their knowledge in unfamiliar
settings, both in and outside of school. - https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
 Key features of PISA 2022

The PISA 2022 survey focused on mathematics, with reading,

science and creative thinking as minor areas of assessment.
In each round of PISA, one subject is tested in detail, taking
up nearly half of the total testing time. The main subject in
2022 was mathematics, as it was in 2012 and 2003. Reading
was the main subject in 2000, 2009 and 2018, science was
the main subject in 2006 and 2015.

- https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/
DepEd Memorandum No. 001 s. 2024

“Implementation of Catch – up Fridays”

To bolster the basic education priorities articulated in the

MATATAG Agenda and accelerate the achievement of
education targets as stipulated in DepEd Order (DO) No. 013,
s. 2023 titled Adoption of the National Learning Recovery
Program (NLRP), there is a need to intensify Values, Health,
and Peace Education.
DepEd Memorandum No. 001 s. 2024
Catch-up Fridays is a learning mechanism intended to strengthen the
foundational, social, and other relevant skills necessary to actualize
the intent of the basic education curriculum. This initiative is integral
in the National Reading and Mathematics Programs which are critical
subprograms of the NLRP stipulated in DO O 13, s. 2023. All Fridays
throughout the school year shall be designated as Catch-up Fridays,
with a focus on operationalizing the National Reading Program (NRP)
during the first half of the day's schedule and on fostering Values,
Health, and Peace Education for the second half. Additionally, t}re
Homeroom Guidance Program (HGP) shall also be included in the
Catch-up Fridays.
DepEd Memorandum No. 001 s. 2024

All Fridays throughout the school year shall be designated as

Catch-up Fridays, with a focus on operationalizing the
National Reading Program (NRP) during the first half of the
day's schedule and on fostering Values, Health, and Peace
Education for the second half. Additionally, the Homeroom
Guidance Program (HGP) shall also be included in the Catch-
up Fridays.
DepEd Memorandum No. 001 s. 2024

All Fridays throughout the school year shall be designated as

Catch-up Fridays, with a focus on operationalizing the
National Reading Program (NRP) during the first half of the
day's schedule and on fostering Values, Health, and Peace
Education for the second half. Additionally, the Homeroom
Guidance Program (HGP) shall also be included in the Catch-
up Fridays.
DepEd Memorandum No. 001 s. 2024

Teachers shall employ an integrative approach to

teaching. For example, the content of any learning area
can be used as a springboard for developing the reading
skills of learners.
DepEd Memorandum No. 001 s. 2024

140 minutes or 2 hours and 20 minutes – National

Reading Program

The National Reading Program caters to the different

reading needs of Iearners through its two-pronged
approach: (1) Reading Intervention and (2) Reading
Enhancement.
 References:
https://www.deped.gov.ph
https://www.philstar.com
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Assessment and Analytical Framework, PISA, OECD Publishing,
Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/dfe0bf9c-en
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education.
OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption.
OECD (forthcoming), PISA 2022 Results (Volume III).
OECD (forthcoming), PISA 2022 Results (Volume IV).
OECD (forthcoming), PISA 2022 Results (Volume V).