Makati students top TOFAS 

Makati Mayor Abby Binay congratulated students in the city’s public schools from Grades Three to 10 for topping the regional Test of Functional Academic Skills (TOFAS) administered by the Department of Education last February 20-24, 2023.

The mayor said Makati students posted the highest passing rates in Mathematics across all levels, making the Schools Division Office (SDO) Makati first among 16 SDOs in the National Capital Region.

“Congratulations to our Proud Makatizen students for this latest achievement! Once again, you have proven that the city is on track in promoting academic excellence through substantial investments in programs aimed to continually raise the quality of our public education system,” Mayor Abby said.

She said the city government has earmarked over P1 billion for Project FREE (Free Relevant and Excellent Education) and Students’ Competency Enrichment Program under SDO Makati from the Special Education Fund this year. The city has also allocated over P140.7 million from the General Fund to programs implemented by the city Education Department, including the city’s college scholarship program, high school scholarship program, incentives for outstanding students and school year completers, and Special Education Program (SPED).

The mayor also thanked SDO Makati officials and public school teachers for having been “dedicated, innovative and hardworking partners of the city government in educating the nation’s future leaders and optimizing their potential for greatness in their chosen field.”  

The TOFAS is a free global online testing system designed to reveal learners’ fundamental and skill strengths and weaknesses, which can help educators in identifying gaps and planning needed interventions.

SDO Makati has reported that a total of 41,546 Makati students from Grades 3 to 10 took the online test consisting of 100 multiple-choice questions that can be finished in 40 minutes on a desktop, tablet, or Android smartphone. The students were tested on computational skills, which include decimals, fractions, integers, equations, polynomials, systems, and quadratic equations.

Mayor Abby said the information gathered from these tests will be used in creating interventions that are tailor-fit to the learners’ needs and abilities. She reiterated the city government’s firm commitment to quality education and continuing support for DepEd Makati’s programs, including the enhancement of students’numeracy skills performance.

The mayor said planned interventions include innovations in instructional practices of Math teachers aimed to get through students’ aversion to numbers and gain their interest in the subject, developing intensive learning activities and modern learning materials, and creating a localized and standardized numeracy assessment tool.