The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Tara, Basa! (Let’s Read) Tutoring Program (TBTP) child learners have received positive ratings based on the latest English and Filipino literacy assessment conducted by the Department of Education’s (DepEd) Bureau of Education Assessment (BEA).
Based on the assessment results, TBTP National Program Director Edu Punay said 45,794 incoming Grade 2 learners from 2,295 elementary schools nationwide were fully assessed by the BEA out of the 55,932 learners of the Tara, Basa! during the program’s implementation in 12 regions in 2025.
From DepEd-BEA’s assessed learners, 72.39 percent or 33,149 of them reached the “Meets Expectations” level in Filipino literacy, while 70.08 percent or 32,094 reached the same level in English literacy.
“This positive result from DepEd proves that Tara, Basa! Tutoring Program is effective and will help prepare the future generation to become globally competitive,” DSWD spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao, said in a news release on Thursday.
Dumlao said the outcome is a welcome development to ensure that “more children and learners improve their skills, knowledge, and capabilities.”
These results provide strong evidence that the program is achieving its intended objectives of strengthening early literacy among learners, she added.
The assessment further showed significant improvement in the learners’ literacy skills after participating in the program.
A total of 21,801 learners in Filipino and 20,013 learners in English moved up to the “Meets Expectations” level from the lower proficiency levels.
The average scores of learners also increased, with Filipino mean scores rising from 6.04 to 8.19, and English from 5.77 to 8.23.
“The data clearly shows strong upward movement in learners’ reading skills. Many of those who reached the ‘Meets Expectations’ level came from lower proficiency groups, which proves that the program is effective in helping struggling learners improve their reading abilities,” she said. (PNA)
