PISA Results 2022 (Volume III) - Factsheets: Philippines

In the PISA 2022 Creative Thinking test, 15-year-old students in the Philippines scored significantly lower than the OECD average, with a mean score of 14 out of 60 points compared to the OECD average of 33. Their performance was also below expectations based on their mathematics and reading scores. Only 22% of Filipino students reached at least a baseline proficiency (Level 3) in creative thinking, far less than the OECD average of 78%. Furthermore, only 6% were top performers (Level 5 or 6), compared to the OECD average of 27%. The correlation between creative thinking and mathematics performance in the Philippines was 0.8, and 0.83 with reading performance, both higher than the OECD averages indicating a strong link between these academic domains and creative thinking in the Philippines.

The PISA 2022 creative thinking test assessed students across three ideation processes: generating diverse ideas, generating creative ideas, and evaluating and improving ideas. Filipino students showed relatively higher proficiency in tasks requiring generating creative ideas. Globally, students struggled most with tasks requiring diverse idea generation. The test tasks were set in four domain contexts: written expression, visual expression, social problem solving, and scientific problem solving. Students in the Philippines demonstrated higher proficiency in tasks involving written and visual expression. Across all participating countries, tasks related to social and scientific problem solving posed more difficulty.

Socio-economic status significantly impacted creative thinking performance in the Philippines, with advantaged students outperforming disadvantaged students by 8.8 score points, similar to the OECD average difference. Socio-economic status explained 7% of the variation in creative thinking performance in the Philippines. About 12% of disadvantaged students in the Philippines demonstrated resilience by scoring in the top quarter of creative thinking performance within their country. Girls in the Philippines outperformed boys by 4.3 score points, a larger gap than the OECD average of 2.7 points. The gender gap widened at higher proficiency levels, with more girls (7%) being top performers than boys (4%).

81% of Filipino students believe creativity is possible in nearly any subject, similar to the OECD average, and this belief correlated with higher scores. However, 66% hold a 'fixed mindset' about creativity, believing it's unchangeable, which is associated with lower scores. Students generally reported high levels of imagination, openness to intellect, and creative self-efficacy. Curiosity, perspective-taking, and persistence also positively correlated with creative thinking scores. A high percentage of Filipino students expect to pursue higher education, and those aspiring to creative sector jobs showed higher creative thinking proficiency. The school environment in the Philippines appears conducive to creativity, with 83% of students reporting enough time for creative solutions on assignments. School principals reported high access to arts, drama, creative writing, and computer programming classes. Digital tool usage for learning was high both in and out of school; however, excessive digital leisure use at school was negatively associated with creative thinking performance.