DepEd clarifies FLEMMS 2024 results: Functional literacy shows gains despite stricter standards

A Department of Education (DepEd) official highlighted the positive outcomes of the 2024 Functional Literacy, Education, and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS), despite the introduction of stricter standards.

Undersecretary for Strategic Management Ronald Mendoza explained that the latest FLEMMS survey shows significant improvements in functional literacy across various regions, demonstrating the effectiveness of enhanced education initiatives and evolving assessment criteria.

This, he noted, marks a crucial step toward achieving higher literacy rates as DepEd continues to focus on refining educational standards nationwide.

FLEMMS 2024

In a position paper dated May 4 and released by DepEd on Monday, May 5, Mendoza—a former dean of the Ateneo School of Government—outlined the significance of functional literacy and related DepEd reforms. The paper is titled “Explaining Functional Literacy and DepEd Reforms to Boost Literacy for All.”

FLEMMS, Mendoza explained, is a “national survey that gathers information on basic and functional literacy rates, and the educational skill qualifications of the population.”

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently released the 2024 results, which were also discussed in various fora, including the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2).

Mendoza noted that the latest results show the Philippines “maintains a strong basic literacy rate of 93.1 percent among individuals aged 10 to 64.”

This, he said, underscores the country’s “success in ensuring that the vast majority of Filipinos can read, write, and compute—important foundational skills.”

However, Mendoza pointed out that the 2024 data include an “adjustment” that raises the bar on literacy by incorporating high-level comprehension skills.

“Using this revised measure, the functional literacy rate is about 70.8 percent,” Mendoza said. “Simply put, around seven out of ten Filipinos possess high-level comprehension skills to process and apply information effectively in daily life,” he added.

EDCOM 2, in a statement issued on May 1, said “around 18 million Filipinos finished high school despite being functionally illiterate.”

The congressional body, created through RA 11899 to conduct a comprehensive national assessment of the Philippine education sector, stated that “approximately 18 million Filipinos who are graduates from the country’s basic education system could be functionally illiterate,” citing FLEMMS 2024 data.

This finding, EDCOM 2 said, was cited during a Senate Committee on Basic Education hearing held on April 30 on the initial results of the survey conducted by PSA in the second half of 2024.

‘Misinterpreted’ data

Mendoza, however, emphasized that “some clarifications” are needed. He said that “some figures appear to have been misinterpreted,” following headlines that “inaccurately claimed that 18.9 million high school graduates in 2024 cannot comprehend,” based on the FLEMMS results.

According to Mendoza, the data presented in the Senate hearing actually indicate that “18.9 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 are classified as functionally illiterate—meaning they can read, write, and compute but struggle with comprehension, regardless of their educational attainment.”

This figure, he said, represents a “broad segment of the population”—not just high school graduates from the DepEd system.

He further clarified that the total number of Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS) learners for SY 2024–2025 is only about 11.6 million, making it “incorrect to attribute the full 18.9 million figure solely to high school graduates.”

Moreover, among 18-year-olds who are expected to graduate or have graduated from SHS, 80 percent—or 1.5 million out of 1.9 million—are “functionally literate,” providing a more accurate estimate of literacy levels among SHS graduates for SY 2024–2025.

Acknowledging that there are “no easy fixes” to the country’s literacy challenges, Mendoza emphasized the importance of “getting our facts straight so we know we’re on the right path.”

PSA revised definitions

Mendoza explained that PSA has revised the definitions of “basic” and “functional” literacy.

Previously, individuals aged five and above were classified as “basic literate” if they could read and write, while individuals aged 10 to 64 were considered “functionally literate” if they could read, write, and compute; read, write, compute, and comprehend; or were at least high school graduates (under the old curriculum) or junior high school completers (under K to 12).

“The 2024 revision involves more stringent criteria,” Mendoza said. “Basic literates now must be able to read, write with understanding, and compute, whereas functional literates must be able to read, write, compute, and comprehend.”

As a result of these definitional changes, Mendoza noted, “overall literacy rates have decreased.”

Using previous definitions, the basic and functional literacy rates would have been 95.1 percent and 93.1 percent, respectively. Under the new criteria, these figures have dropped to 90.0 percent and 70.8 percent, respectively.

Mendoza stressed that comparing past data to the revised 2024 calculations is “incorrect.”

This, he said, gives the “impression of a large decline in literacy—when in fact, literacy rates increased between 2019 and 2024 based on both the old and the new definitions.”

“To properly compare trends in functional literacy over time, past rates must be updated using PSA’s revised methodology,” Mendoza added.

Citing PSA’s analysis, Mendoza said that under the new methodology, only “61.7 percent of Filipinos were functionally literate in 2019.”

“This finding suggests that the share of functionally literate Filipinos increased from 61.7 percent in 2019 to 70.8 percent in 2024—equivalent to approximately 11 million more Filipinos considered functionally literate under PSA’s 2024 definition,” Mendoza said.

Despite this improvement, Mendoza stressed that meaningful reforms remain essential.

“Make no mistake, we still need to pursue deep reforms to reach many Filipinos who are still falling through the cracks in terms of achieving functional literacy,” he said. “We need to redouble our efforts to move the needle on boosting functional literacy,” he added.

DepEd’s efforts

Citing Education Secretary Sonny Angara, who has long emphasized that literacy must be central to DepEd’s educational reforms, Mendoza highlighted the department’s commitment to addressing literacy and equipping learners for the future.

He noted that under the Quality Basic Education Development Plan (QBEDP) 2025–2035, DepEd supports President Marcos’ education priorities, with the ultimate goal of empowering Filipinos and enhancing their employability.

“DepEd’s initiatives to combat functional illiteracy among learners align with its reform agenda,” Mendoza said.

These initiatives, he explained, include curriculum reforms; strengthening the Early Language, Literacy, and Numeracy (ELLN) program; and enhancing formative assessment practices to better monitor student progress.

Other efforts include school-based initiatives such as the institutionalization of Learning Action Cells, the promotion of collaborative expertise among educators, and targeted intervention programs like the ARAL Program, Bawat Bata Makababasa Program, Literacy Remediation Program, Summer Academic Remedial Program, and Learning Camps.

Mendoza noted that DepEd’s Alternative Learning System (ALS) implements the Basic Literacy Program, which focuses on foundational reading, writing, and numeracy.

DepEd has also piloted the Functional Education and Literacy Program (FELP), with a strong emphasis on financial education, and continues to build school-based learning centers to support ALS learners nationwide.

He said the Literacy Coordinating Council (LCC) is actively advancing several initiatives, following a joint commitment between DepEd and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to ensure functional literacy and lifelong learning for all.

“These initiatives include the institutionalization of literacy mapping, the promotion of literacy innovation programs, and the strengthening of advocacy partnerships,” Mendoza said.

He added that the LCC has provided capacity-building support to over 300 local councils, equipping them with the tools needed for effective community-based literacy program management.

Citing data from the Operations Strand, Mendoza also mentioned that school-based feeding programs positively impact early-grade reading outcomes.

“This evidence reinforces DepEd’s intervention efforts to address malnutrition among learners, highlighting the importance of physical well-being during their early years in the basic education system,” he said.

Mendoza concluded that these combined efforts “contribute to the goal of producing empowered and employable Filipinos, reinforcing the foundation for a more literate and capable workforce in the years to come.”

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