Region X (Northern Mindanao) sits close to the national average in the CRLA results for SY 2025-26. Of 273,425 public school learners in Grades 1–3 assessed at the end of the year, 25,563 were struggling readers, or 9.3%, against 10.0% for the Philippines. The share reading at grade level, 49.3%, is slightly above the national 47.6%. Ordered from the fewest struggling readers to the most, the region is number 8 of the 18 regions.
An average near the national one hides a wide spread. Division shares run from 2.9% to 11.4%, with the Misamis Occidental divisions at the low end and Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City at the high end. The region’s own school model also finds 8 terms with a 95% interval that excludes 1, including one, for fifth-class municipalities, that runs opposite to the national result.
Key findings
- All 14 divisions lie within the national funnel’s 95% limits; shares run from Tangub City (2.9%), the only division five or more points from the regional share, to Cagayan de Oro City (11.4%).
- The division with the most struggling readers is Bukidnon (8,116 struggling readers), the region’s largest by enrollment.
- The cluster test places 0 of the region’s municipalities in high-high clusters and 1 in a low-low cluster; the highest estimated municipal shares are in Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon.
- Stunting among children aged 0–2 was 3.2%, below the national 4.3%, but Misamis Occidental (6.5%) stands well above the national share.
- In the region’s within-division school model, 8 terms have an interval that excludes 1, and schools in fifth-class municipalities had more struggling readers than those in first-class ones, the reverse of the national direction.
- Region X has 1 program on the EDCOM II list, 1.0% of all entries, while it holds 5.0% of the country’s struggling readers.
CRLA reading levels by grade and language in Region X
The Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), administered by classroom teachers, sorts learners into five levels: Low Emerging, High Emerging, Developing, Transitioning and At Grade Level. Learners at the first two levels are struggling readers. The table shows each grade-and-language block.
| Grade and language | Learners | Low Emerging | High Emerging | Developing | Transitioning | At Grade Level | Struggling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 Mother Tongue | 84,567 | 9.6% | 3.7% | 11.0% | 27.9% | 47.8% | 13.3% |
| Grade 2 Mother Tongue | 87,038 | 5.7% | 1.8% | 8.9% | 33.6% | 49.9% | 7.5% |
| Grade 2 Filipino | 92,043 | 5.7% | 1.7% | 9.1% | 35.7% | 47.8% | 7.4% |
| Grade 3 Filipino | 97,334 | 4.6% | 1.3% | 7.1% | 36.8% | 50.2% | 5.9% |
| Grade 3 English | 96,815 | 6.0% | 1.8% | 7.7% | 32.6% | 52.0% | 7.8% |
| Region X, all learners | 273,425 | 7.0% | 2.3% | 9.2% | 32.2% | 49.3% | 9.3% |
| Philippines, all learners | 5,127,670 | 6.9% | 3.1% | 10.4% | 32.0% | 47.6% | 10.0% |
Region X is above the national share at grade level in every block except Grade 3 Filipino. Its largest lead is in Grade 1 Mother Tongue (+2.4 points), the block where struggling readers are most common across the country; even so, 13.3% of the region’s Grade 1 learners struggle in the Mother Tongue. The one block that trails is Grade 3 Filipino (-0.6 points), by a small margin, and Grade 3 English has the region’s highest share at grade level, 52.0%.
Schools divisions in Region X
For each of the region’s 14 divisions, the table gives the share struggling, an empirical Bayes estimate with its 95% interval, a national rank, and the division’s position on the national funnel. Empirical Bayes estimation steadies a small division’s share by borrowing from the national rate, while a large division keeps nearly its own figure. The funnel sets limits around the national rate that are wide for small divisions and narrow for large ones.
| Division | Schools | Learners | Struggling readers | Share struggling | Estimate (95% interval) | National rank of 232 (95% interval) | National funnel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bukidnon | 576 | 72,092 | 8,116 | 11.3% | 11.3% (11.0%–11.5%) | 167 (162–170) | within limits |
| Cagayan de Oro City | 73 | 34,118 | 3,890 | 11.4% | 11.4% (11.1%–11.7%) | 169 (163–173) | within limits |
| Camiguin | 54 | 4,592 | 281 | 6.1% | 6.1% (5.5%–6.8%) | 53 (49–71) | within limits |
| El Salvador | 16 | 2,840 | 216 | 7.6% | 7.6% (6.7%–8.7%) | 83 (68–113) | within limits |
| Gingoog City | 81 | 7,733 | 675 | 8.7% | 8.7% (8.1%–9.4%) | 115 (96–134) | within limits |
| Iligan City | 86 | 18,243 | 2,067 | 11.3% | 11.3% (10.9%–11.8%) | 168 (159–174) | within limits |
| Lanao del Norte | 353 | 37,767 | 3,642 | 9.6% | 9.6% (9.3%–9.9%) | 139 (133–146) | within limits |
| Malaybalay City | 68 | 11,646 | 1,294 | 11.1% | 11.1% (10.5%–11.7%) | 164 (155–172) | within limits |
| Misamis Occidental | 313 | 16,166 | 893 | 5.5% | 5.5% (5.2%–5.9%) | 50 (46–51) | within limits |
| Misamis Oriental | 352 | 41,700 | 2,489 | 6.0% | 6.0% (5.7%–6.2%) | 51 (50–56) | within limits |
| Oroquieta City | 44 | 3,079 | 192 | 6.2% | 6.3% (5.4%–7.1%) | 56 (48–75) | within limits |
| Ozamis City | 48 | 7,002 | 482 | 6.9% | 6.9% (6.3%–7.5%) | 74 (58–81) | within limits |
| Tangub City | 55 | 4,000 | 114 | 2.9% | 2.9% (2.4%–3.4%) | 15 (9–20) | within limits |
| Valencia City | 57 | 12,447 | 1,212 | 9.7% | 9.7% (9.2%–10.2%) | 143 (130–151) | within limits |
No Region X division falls outside the funnel’s 95% limits, so none is unusual for its size, but the spread is wide. Tangub City (2.9%) has one of the lowest shares in the country, and the other Misamis Occidental divisions (Misamis Occidental, Oroquieta City and Ozamis City) are also low, as are Camiguin and Misamis Oriental.
At the other end, Cagayan de Oro City (11.4%) is highest, with Bukidnon, Iligan City and Malaybalay City close behind.
Languages of instruction
Most of the region’s schools teach in one language, Sinugbuanong Binisaya (90% of schools). The table adds Meranaw, the language of the Maranao people of the Lanao provinces, and Tagalog.
| Language of instruction | Schools | Learners | Share struggling | At Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinugbuanong Binisaya | 1,955 | 246,512 | 9.3% | 50.0% |
| Meranaw | 139 | 12,378 | 10.0% | 42.3% |
| Tagalog | 55 | 9,698 | 9.9% | 41.7% |
Meranaw and Tagalog schools have struggling shares close to those of Sinugbuanong Binisaya schools, but smaller shares at grade level. They are small groups, so their figures move more by chance.
Among Grade 2 learners assessed in both languages, the share at grade level in Filipino differs from the share in the Mother Tongue by -1.8 points, against -0.8 nationally. Grade 2 learners in the region did slightly better in the Mother Tongue than in Filipino, a little more so than in the country as a whole. That gap is worth tracking now that RA 12027 of 2024 has discontinued the mother tongue as the medium of instruction in Kindergarten to Grade 3 outside monolingual classes that meet the law’s requirements; CRLA by Language gives the national results.
Where struggling readers are concentrated in Region X
The map shades the region’s 93 municipalities and cities by an estimated share of struggling readers, steadied toward the national rate where a place has few learners. It is a map of places and says nothing about any one child.
The table lists the places with the most struggling readers, mostly cities with large enrollments.
| Municipality or city | Province | Struggling readers | Learners | Estimated share struggling | Cluster |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cagayan de Oro City (Capital) | Misamis Oriental | 3,890 | 34,118 | 11.4% | No cluster |
| Iligan City | Lanao del Norte | 2,067 | 18,243 | 11.3% | No cluster |
| City of Malaybalay (Capital) | Bukidnon | 1,294 | 11,646 | 11.1% | No cluster |
| City of Valencia | Bukidnon | 1,212 | 12,447 | 9.7% | No cluster |
| Talakag | Bukidnon | 1,057 | 6,356 | 16.6% | No cluster |
The highest estimated shares are Munai, Lanao del Norte (27.3%); Poona Piagapo, Lanao del Norte (23.0%); Baungon, Bukidnon (18.8%); San Fernando, Bukidnon (17.9%); Magsaysay, Lanao del Norte (17.8%), all in Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon. The cluster test looks for places whose shares resemble their neighbors’ more than chance would allow, with FDR 5% control. It places 0 of the region’s municipalities in high-high clusters and 1 in a low-low cluster, a low-share place among low-share neighbors. Region X has no high-high cluster, although its neighbors BARMM, Region IX, Region XI and Region XII all have some. The cluster method is set out in CRLA Reading Hotspots.
Early childhood: stunting and day care centers
The province table shows two measures: stunting, meaning children aged 0–2 who were too short for their age in Operation Timbang Plus 2025, as reported to the National Nutrition Council; and barangays with no child development center (CDC) on a DILG list.
| Province or highly urbanized city | Children 0–2 measured | Stunted | Barangays without a CDC | Learners struggling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bukidnon | 53,352 | 3.7% | 6 of 464 | 11.0% |
| Camiguin | 2,300 | 6.2% | 1 of 58 | 6.1% |
| Lanao del Norte | 34,104 | 3.2% | 74 of 506 | 10.2% |
| Misamis Occidental | 14,384 | 6.5% | 13 of 490 | 5.6% |
| Misamis Oriental | 52,333 | 1.5% | 59 of 504 | 8.4% |
Stunting in Region X, 3.2% of 156,473 children measured, is below the national 4.3%. The highest is Misamis Occidental (6.5%), well above the national share, yet Misamis Occidental’s learners have one of the lowest shares of struggling readers in the region. The two measures cover different children, those aged 0–2 in 2025 and those in Grades 1–3 in SY 2025-26, so a province can rank high on one and low on the other.
Of the region’s 2,022 barangays, 153 have no CDC, or 7.6%, against 10.9% nationally; most are in Lanao del Norte and Misamis Oriental. For the country as a whole, the links are tested in Stunting, Day Care Centers and Early Reading.
School resources
The table draws on DepEd’s SY 2023-24 school files, two school years before the CRLA, and gives the median school for the two ratios and shares of schools for the rest.
| School input (SY 2023-24) | Region X | Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Learners per teacher (elementary) | 24.4 | 22.8 |
| Learners per classroom (elementary) | 29.0 | 25.8 |
| Schools with internet | 71.1% | 76.3% |
| Schools with electricity | 96.0% | 97.6% |
| Schools with a water supply | 96.9% | 97.8% |
| Schools with no functional toilet | 3.1% | 2.3% |
| Schools with multigrade classes | 19.0% | 15.3% |
Region X schools are more crowded than the national picture. In the median school there are 24.4 learners for each teacher and 29.0 for each classroom, against 22.8 and 25.8 nationally. More schools offer multigrade classes (19.0%, against 15.3%), and fewer have internet.
A regional model compares schools inside the same division and expresses each input as an odds ratio: 1 means no association, above 1 more struggling readers and below 1 fewer. Its 95% intervals are quasi-binomial, meaning binomial standard errors widened to allow for schools differing more than chance alone would make them. For Region X, 8 terms have an interval that excludes 1: learners per teacher: odds ratio 1.26 (1.14–1.39); learners per classroom: odds ratio 1.06 (1.004–1.12); school size: odds ratio 0.77 (0.72–0.83); internet: odds ratio 0.80 (0.71–0.91); no functional toilet: odds ratio 0.57 (0.35–0.92); income class 2nd: odds ratio 0.76 (0.63–0.91); income class 4th: odds ratio 0.78 (0.62–0.99); income class 5th: odds ratio 2.18 (1.36–3.51). Each income class is compared with first-class municipalities.
Most of these point the same way as the national model. More learners per teacher and per classroom went with more struggling readers, although the lower end of the classroom interval sits only just above 1, and larger schools, schools with internet and schools in second- and fourth-class municipalities went with fewer. The exceptions are no functional toilet; income class 5th. Schools in fifth-class municipalities had more struggling readers than those in first-class ones, the reverse of the national direction, and schools reporting no functional toilet had fewer, while the national interval for toilets includes 1. Both intervals are wide, so these are patterns to check, not findings about income or toilets. The national version of the model, with its checks, is in School Resources and CRLA Reading Results.
School heads
In DepEd’s SY 2023-24 personnel file, a School Principal position appears in 38.7% of Region X schools, close to the national 40.7%; in 29.5% there was no head position, so a teacher-in-charge or officer-in-charge ran the school.
Unadjusted, 8.6% of learners struggled in schools with a principal and 10.8% in schools without one. That raw gap mixes in size: principal positions go mostly to larger schools, and larger schools go with fewer struggling readers in the region’s model. The adjusted comparison of similar schools is in CRLA Results in Schools With and Without a Principal.
Programs recorded in Region X
NGOs and corporate foundations report literacy, nutrition and childcare programs to the EDCOM II dashboard. Only 1 of those listed is in Region X: Early Grade Reading Intervention (1). That is 1.0% of the list, against the region’s 5.0% share of struggling readers, so its share of programs is less than half its share of need. The list is not a full count of programs in Northern Mindanao, and it does not measure results; Literacy and Nutrition Programs Compared With Need reviews it.
What this means for school heads in Region X
A near-average regional figure says little about any one school. In Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte, compare results with nearby schools of similar size rather than with the regional average. Crowding goes with more struggling readers in the region’s model, so where Grade 1 classes are large, look first at how struggling readers are grouped and given extra reading time. Before acting on any rank, read its interval; How to Read a School’s CRLA Results Fairly shows how.
How these numbers were made
- Source: the EDCOM II early-childhood (ECCD) dashboard, which held end-of-year CRLA results for public schools in SY 2025-26 as of 10 May 2026.
- Counting: each learner once, in Grade 1 Mother Tongue, Grade 2 Filipino or Grade 3 English; a struggling reader is one placed at Low Emerging or High Emerging.
- Estimates: empirical Bayes shares for divisions and municipalities, with 95% intervals; local cluster tests with 9,999 permutations and FDR 5%.
- School data: DepEd’s SY 2023-24 files, analyzed for the region with a quasi-binomial regression that holds the division fixed and widens its intervals for extra variation between schools.
- More detail: the series overview, CRLA End-of-Year Results SY 2025-26, covers the estimates, and How to Read a School’s CRLA Results Fairly covers intervals and ranks.
Limits
The CRLA is a screen run by teachers, so administration can vary between schools. School inputs and heads describe SY 2023-24, not the year of the results, and all comparisons are associations between schools or places. The regional model rests on 14 divisions, and small groups such as fifth-class municipalities can give unstable results. Region X is not in DepEd’s selected-school file, so there is no start-of-year comparison for it.
Frequently asked questions
How does Region X compare with the national CRLA results?
At the end of SY 2025-26, 9.3% of Grade 1–3 learners in Region X public schools were struggling readers, against 10.0% nationally, and 49.3% read at grade level, against 47.6%.
Which Region X division has the lowest share of struggling readers?
The lowest is Tangub City (2.9%), one of the lowest in the country. The highest is Cagayan de Oro City (11.4%), and the most struggling readers by number are in Bukidnon (8,116 struggling readers).
Where are struggling readers concentrated in Northern Mindanao?
By number, in the large cities and in Bukidnon. By estimated share, in municipalities of Lanao del Norte and Bukidnon, led by Munai and Poona Piagapo.
Is stunting linked to reading results in Region X?
Not in any simple way at the province level. Misamis Occidental (6.5%) has the region’s highest stunting, yet its learners have one of the lowest shares of struggling readers. Stunting and the CRLA cover different children, so province figures cannot show a link for individual learners.
Download the data
The cleaned EDCOM II dashboard data behind this series are free to download for personal study; to reuse them, email support@nash.com.ph for written permission first. How the EDCOM Dashboard Data Was Cleaned explains every table and cleaning rule. The files are at data.nash.com.ph: start with the README, then the school table with CRLA results and school inputs (Parquet), the school estimates (CSV), the division estimates (CSV) and the municipal table (CSV). The DepEd school files used for school inputs are described in Download Cleaned DepEd School Data.
Every file, with its rows, columns and checksum, is listed on the EDCOM II CRLA data page. To cite the data: Llego, M. A. (2026). EDCOM II early-childhood dashboard data, cleaned, version 1. NASH Reviewer. https://nash.com.ph/edcom-data
More in this series
- CRLA End-of-Year Results SY 2025-26: All 18 Regions
- CRLA Start vs End of SY 2025-26 in the Same Schools
- CRLA by Language: Mother Tongue, Filipino and English
- How to Read a School’s CRLA Results Fairly
- CRLA Variation: School, Division or Region?
- Where Struggling Readers Are Concentrated
- School Resources and CRLA Reading Results
- CRLA Results in Schools With and Without a Principal
- Action Research and Thesis Topics on Reading (CRLA)
- CRLA Reading Hotspots: A Map of Struggling Readers
- Stunting, Day Care Centers and Early Reading
- Literacy and Nutrition Programs Compared With Need
- CRLA Schools With No Struggling Readers: A Data Check
- How the EDCOM Dashboard Data Was Cleaned
- Regional reports: NCR, CAR, Region I, Region II, Region III, Region IV-A, MIMAROPA, Region V, Region VI, NIR, Region VII, Region VIII, Region IX, Region X, Region XI, Region XII, Caraga, BARMM
- Earlier reports: CRLA Results SY 2025-2026 (DepEd’s selected-school file), Do the Same DepEd Schools Lag on the ELLNA, NAT and CRLA?, DepEd School Inputs vs Test Results, EDCOM II Final Report: Guide for Aspiring School Heads, DepEd Data for Aspiring School Heads: Where to Start
Analysis and charts by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Data: EDCOM II early-childhood dashboard and Department of Education public datasets. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with EDCOM II or DepEd. Charts may be reused only with written permission from support@nash.com.ph.