Manila, Sept. 10 -- The Department of Education (DepEd) on Thursday said it will sustain its momentum to further advance gains in basic education following the country's strongest performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

The Philippines gained an additional 20 points in reading in the 2025 PISA, up to 367 from 347 in 2022, while mean scores in science and mathematics also showed gains compared to 2022 results, up by 17 points to 373 and 16 points to 371, respectively.

This is the highest performance since its participation in 2018, prompting the Philippines to outrank other countries.

"These gains give us hope, but they are just the baseline. We cannot afford to slow down when so many learners still nee...