In DepEd’s Grade 3 Early Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (ELLNA) of SY 2023-2024, the pooled mean across the 5,752 assessed public schools in 44 divisions is 63.2, below the 75-point proficiency mark, and Numeracy is the weakest component in every region.
The ELLNA is DepEd’s Grade 3 test of what the Mother Tongue-based curriculum should deliver by the end of the first key stage. In English, Filipino and the mother tongue, it tests alphabet knowledge, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, grammar, and reading and listening comprehension. In numeracy, it tests counting, estimating, calculating, measuring and problem solving. DepEd gave the SY 2023-2024 test in May 2024 as a census of schools and learners. It has released school-level mean percentage scores (MPS) for a selected set of 5,752 public schools in five regions and 44 divisions.
The companion report, Philippine basic education in numbers, holds the method notes. The National Achievement Test (NAT) Grade 6 results by division report covers Grade 6 in the same schools.
Key findings
- The test-taker-weighted Grade 3 ELLNA mean across the assessed schools is 63.2, below the 75-point proficiency mark. DepEd tested 218,296 learners, a median of 24 per school.
- Region VIII leads at 69.9 and Region IX trails at 54.4. Region III (62.8), CAR (61.1) and Region I (60.9) are in between.
- Numeracy is the weakest component in every region: 53.6 overall, 42.5 in CAR and 44.2 in Region IX. Filipino (66.9) and English (64.5) are the strongest. Mother Tongue averages 62.2 where it is tested.
- Division means run from 45.4 in Pagadian City to 81.3 in Ilocos Norte. After adjustment, 18 divisions sit significantly below the pooled mean and 14 above. Between-division differences account for 36% of the variance in school means.
- By language of instruction, Waray schools score highest (67.9) and Pangasinan schools lowest (55.7). Kapampangan schools (58.6) and Tagalog schools (62.5) are also below the pooled mean.
- 24% of test-takers attend a school whose mean is Low Proficient, 50% Nearly Proficient, 23% Proficient and 4% Highly Proficient. In Region IX the Low Proficient share is 46%.
What the DepEd ELLNA file contains
The ELLNA file has one row per school. Each row gives the region, the division, the declared language of instruction, the number of test-takers, and the mean percentage scores in English, Filipino, Numeracy, Mother Tongue and overall. Schools whose language is “English/Filipino” (154 schools) did not take the Numeracy and Mother Tongue components. Tagalog schools (1,771) did not take Mother Tongue. Those two components therefore have fewer schools.
All 5,752 schools are public and match DepEd’s SY 2023-2024 school list. The 44 divisions are in CAR, Region I, Region III, Region VIII and Region IX. Inside those divisions the file covers a median of 56% of public schools with Grade 3 learners, and DepEd has not documented the selection rule.
Because DepEd tested all learners, the median school tested 24 learners and the 95th percentile school tested 113. The school means are therefore far steadier than the NAT school means. The empirical-Bayes shrinkage used for both assessments barely moves the ELLNA means. The median weight is 0.98, and 91 of the 100 lowest raw schools stay in the lowest 100.
ELLNA Grade 3 results by region
Each school is weighted by its test-takers. On that basis, Region VIII scores 69.9 and Region IX scores 54.4. Region IX’s 95% interval runs from 53.2 to 55.6, and the table gives the intervals for every region. Region III (62.8), CAR (61.1) and Region I (60.9) sit between the two. The intervals resample schools within each region 2,000 times. Region VIII is first and Region IX last in every resample, and CAR and Region I are statistically tied for third and fourth.
| Region | Schools | Test-takers | Mean percentage score (95% CI) | Median school | Rank (95% interval) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | 527 | 9,905 | 61.1 (59.7–62.4) | 62.1 | 3 (3–4) |
| Region I | 1,107 | 43,472 | 60.9 (59.9–61.9) | 63.2 | 4 (3–4) |
| Region III | 1,364 | 91,413 | 62.8 (61.8–63.9) | 64.2 | 2 (2–3) |
| Region IX | 792 | 21,717 | 54.4 (53.2–55.6) | 54.8 | 5 (5–5) |
| Region VIII | 1,962 | 51,789 | 69.9 (68.8–70.9) | 74.2 | 1 (1–1) |
The component pattern is the same in every region: Filipino highest, then English, then Mother Tongue, with Numeracy ten or more points lower. Region VIII’s Numeracy mean of 61.7 is above every other region’s and still below 75. CAR’s is 42.5.
| Region | English | Filipino | Numeracy | Mother Tongue | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | 64.1 | 64.2 | 42.5 | 62.3 | 61.1 |
| Region I | 61.4 | 64.5 | 52.2 | 62 | 60.9 |
| Region III | 63.4 | 67 | 52.9 | 55.5 | 62.8 |
| Region IX | 57.1 | 57.6 | 44.2 | 53.1 | 54.4 |
| Region VIII | 72.3 | 73.2 | 61.7 | 67.7 | 69.9 |
| All assessed | 64.5 | 66.9 | 53.6 | 62.2 | 63.2 |
ELLNA Grade 3 results by division
Ilocos Norte leads at 81.3, followed by Tarlac (77.5) and Nueva Ecija (76.5). Southern Leyte (76.0) and Biliran (75.5) complete the top five, and these five are the only divisions whose mean reaches the 75-point mark. Pagadian City is lowest at 45.4, and Candon City (47.7) is next. The table below lists all 44 divisions with their intervals and ranks. Between-division differences account for 36% of the weighted variance in school means, more than for the NAT (27%). Between-region differences account for 8%.
Each division’s mean is compared with the pooled mean of 63.2, with Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment for the 44 comparisons. On that test, 18 divisions are significantly below the pooled mean and 14 are above it. The rank intervals are narrower than for the NAT because the school means are steadier. Ilocos Norte’s rank interval is 1 to 2 and Pagadian City’s is 43 to 44. Mid-table divisions still span five to eight places.
| Division (region) | Schools | Test-takers | Mean percentage score (95% CI) | Rank (95% interval) | Difference from pooled mean | Significant (BH 5%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilocos Norte (Region I) | 92 | 2,267 | 81.3 (78.4–83.8) | 1 (1–2) | 18.1 | yes |
| Tarlac (Region III) | 216 | 12,098 | 77.5 (75.1–79.7) | 2 (2–6) | 14.3 | yes |
| Nueva Ecija (Region III) | 249 | 11,296 | 76.5 (74.5–78.4) | 3 (2–7) | 13.3 | yes |
| Southern Leyte (Region VIII) | 134 | 2,648 | 76.0 (72.8–79.1) | 4 (2–9) | 12.8 | yes |
| Biliran (Region VIII) | 87 | 2,908 | 75.5 (73.0–78.4) | 5 (2–9) | 12.4 | yes |
| Samar (Western Samar) (Region VIII) | 324 | 5,578 | 75.0 (72.7–77.3) | 6 (3–10) | 11.9 | yes |
| Leyte (Region VIII) | 526 | 13,700 | 74.9 (73.6–76.2) | 7 (4–9) | 11.7 | yes |
| Ormoc City (Region VIII) | 81 | 4,827 | 73.7 (71.4–76.0) | 8 (4–11) | 10.5 | yes |
| Calbayog City (Region VIII) | 156 | 3,969 | 73.2 (70.6–75.8) | 9 (5–11) | 10 | yes |
| Borongan City (Region VIII) | 50 | 1,417 | 71.6 (67.2–76.7) | 10 (4–15) | 8.4 | yes |
| Eastern Samar (Region VIII) | 176 | 3,720 | 70.7 (67.8–73.4) | 11 (9–14) | 7.5 | yes |
| Laoag City (Region I) | 34 | 1,488 | 69.0 (65.8–72.1) | 12 (10–18) | 5.8 | yes |
| Bataan (Region III) | 69 | 3,020 | 68.0 (63.1–72.8) | 13 (9–22) | 4.8 | no |
| Urdaneta City (Region I) | 45 | 2,322 | 67.0 (62.6–71.8) | 14 (10–22) | 3.8 | no |
| La Union (Region I) | 177 | 6,173 | 66.8 (65.1–68.6) | 15 (13–19) | 3.6 | yes |
| Kalinga (CAR) | 57 | 802 | 66.6 (62.1–70.9) | 16 (11–23) | 3.4 | no |
| Tacloban City (Region VIII) | 46 | 1,855 | 66.3 (61.3–71.4) | 17 (11–24) | 3.1 | no |
| Ilocos Sur (Region I) | 190 | 3,958 | 65.8 (63.9–67.9) | 18 (14–21) | 2.6 | yes |
| San Carlos City (Region I) | 59 | 3,556 | 65.0 (61.9–68.3) | 19 (13–23) | 1.8 | no |
| Abra (CAR) | 174 | 3,074 | 64.6 (62.0–67.3) | 20 (15–24) | 1.4 | no |
| Catbalogan City (Region VIII) | 50 | 2,115 | 64.4 (59.5–70.1) | 21 (12–26) | 1.2 | no |
| Bulacan (Region III) | 176 | 18,859 | 63.1 (60.5–65.9) | 22 (18–25) | -0.1 | no |
| Zamboanga Sibugay (Region IX) | 155 | 3,583 | 62.0 (59.8–64.3) | 23 (20–26) | -1.2 | no |
| Mt. Province (CAR) | 14 | 207 | 61.3 (55.4–67.4) | 24 (15–34) | -1.9 | no |
| San Jose City (Region III) | 49 | 2,674 | 60.8 (57.1–65.0) | 25 (19–31) | -2.4 | no |
| Ifugao (CAR) | 164 | 2,855 | 59.4 (56.6–62.2) | 26 (23–32) | -3.8 | yes |
| Benguet (CAR) | 19 | 519 | 59.0 (53.8–64.6) | 27 (20–38) | -4.2 | no |
| Apayao (CAR) | 55 | 931 | 58.5 (56.0–60.8) | 28 (25–33) | -4.7 | yes |
| Pampanga (Region III) | 215 | 13,938 | 58.0 (56.3–59.7) | 29 (26–32) | -5.2 | yes |
| Aurora (Region III) | 77 | 2,332 | 57.9 (55.1–60.8) | 30 (25–35) | -5.3 | yes |
| Dagupan City (Region I) | 34 | 2,703 | 56.5 (53.5–59.6) | 31 (26–39) | -6.7 | yes |
| Baguio City (CAR) | 44 | 1,517 | 56.4 (54.3–58.6) | 32 (28–37) | -6.8 | yes |
| Science City of Muñoz (Region III) | 32 | 1,380 | 56.2 (52.3–59.5) | 33 (27–40) | -7 | yes |
| Pangasinan I, Lingayen (Region I) | 268 | 13,019 | 55.2 (53.5–56.9) | 34 (31–39) | -8 | yes |
| Zamboanga del Sur (Region IX) | 285 | 7,044 | 55.1 (53.2–57.1) | 35 (30–40) | -8.1 | yes |
| Tarlac City (Region III) | 88 | 6,492 | 54.8 (52.4–57.3) | 36 (30–40) | -8.4 | yes |
| Pangasinan II, Binalonan (Region I) | 183 | 7,155 | 54.5 (52.1–57.3) | 37 (30–40) | -8.7 | yes |
| Mabalacat City (Region III) | 40 | 4,060 | 54.1 (50.7–57.7) | 38 (30–42) | -9.1 | yes |
| Zamboanga del Norte (Region IX) | 290 | 7,956 | 54.0 (51.8–56.3) | 39 (32–41) | -9.2 | yes |
| Northern Samar (Region VIII) | 332 | 9,052 | 53.2 (51.0–55.6) | 40 (34–41) | -9.9 | yes |
| City of San Jose Del Monte (Region III) | 37 | 9,983 | 52.1 (50.5–53.8) | 41 (38–42) | -11.1 | yes |
| Zambales (Region III) | 116 | 5,281 | 50.4 (48.5–52.3) | 42 (40–43) | -12.8 | yes |
| Candon City (Region I) | 25 | 831 | 47.7 (45.6–50.0) | 43 (42–44) | -15.5 | yes |
| Pagadian City (Region IX) | 62 | 3,134 | 45.4 (43.2–47.7) | 44 (43–44) | -17.8 | yes |
ELLNA results by language of instruction
The file names each school’s declared language of instruction, which is also the language of the Mother Tongue component. Among languages with at least 50 assessed schools, the order is Waray (67.9), Ilokano (65.7), English/Filipino (64.6), Sinugbuanong Binisaya (63.0), Tagalog (62.5), Kapampangan (58.6) and Pangasinan (55.7). The 1,314 Waray schools are nearly all in Region VIII. Numeracy is lowest for Kapampangan (46.3) and Pangasinan (47.2) schools. It is highest for Waray (59.0) and Ilokano (56.8) schools.
| Language of instruction | Schools | English | Filipino | Numeracy | Mother Tongue | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waray | 1,314 | 70 | 71.6 | 59.0 | 66.1 | 67.9 |
| Ilokano/Iloko | 960 | 66.3 | 68.6 | 56.8 | 66.2 | 65.7 |
| English/Filipino | 154 | 64.5 | 64.7 | not taken | not taken | 64.6 |
| Sinugbuanong Binisaya/Cebuano | 1,178 | 65.9 | 65.7 | 55.9 | 60.8 | 63 |
| Tagalog | 1,771 | 63.1 | 66.6 | 51.8 | not taken | 62.5 |
| Kapampangan | 138 | 61.3 | 64.8 | 46.3 | 55.3 | 58.6 |
| Pangasinan/Pangasinense | 235 | 56.7 | 59.9 | 47.2 | 54.3 | 55.7 |
Language and region overlap almost completely: Waray is Region VIII, Ilokano is Region I and CAR, and Kapampangan and Tagalog are Region III. The table therefore cannot separate the language effect from the regional one. The input models in the school inputs and test results analysis add language-of-assessment fixed effects as a robustness check and find the input associations unchanged.
ELLNA proficiency levels applied to school means
DepEd’s technical notes define proficiency bands on the mean percentage score. Applied to school means, 24% of test-takers attend a school whose mean is Low Proficient (25–49), 50% Nearly Proficient (50–74), 23% Proficient (75–89) and 4% Highly Proficient (90–100). Another 0.1% are in Not Proficient schools. Region VIII has 39% of its test-takers in Proficient schools and 5% in Highly Proficient schools. Region IX has 46% in Low Proficient schools. These are bands of school means, not shares of proficient learners. PISA, TIMSS, SEA-PLM and the NAT covers the national proficiency levels that EDCOM II reports for the ELLNA and NAT, alongside the international assessments.
| Region | Not Proficient | Low Proficient | Nearly Proficient | Proficient | Highly Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAR | 0.1% | 18.2% | 66.8% | 14.5% | 0.4% |
| Region I | 0.0% | 27.4% | 54.6% | 15.8% | 2.3% |
| Region III | 0.0% | 24.2% | 50.0% | 20.2% | 5.6% |
| Region IX | 0.0% | 46.3% | 43.2% | 10.3% | 0.2% |
| Region VIII | 0.2% | 12.2% | 43.8% | 38.8% | 5.0% |
| All assessed | 0.1% | 23.9% | 49.5% | 22.5% | 4.0% |
ELLNA scores by component
Filipino averages 66.9 and Numeracy 53.6, with English and Mother Tongue between them. Only 26% of schools have a Numeracy mean of 75 or more, against 39% in Filipino. The table gives each component’s weighted mean, the number of schools that took it, and the share of schools with a mean of 75 or more.
| Assessment | Component | Schools | Weighted mean (95% CI) | Schools with a mean of 75 or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELLNA | English | 5,752 | 64.5 (63.9–65.1) | 35% |
| ELLNA | Filipino | 5,752 | 66.9 (66.4–67.4) | 39% |
| ELLNA | Numeracy | 5,598 | 53.6 (52.7–54.5) | 26% |
| ELLNA | Mother Tongue | 3,827 | 62.2 (61.5–62.9) | 31% |
| NAT | Filipino | 6,636 | 66.0 (65.6–66.4) | 27% |
| NAT | Mathematics | 6,636 | 56.4 (55.7–57.1) | 21% |
| NAT | English | 6,636 | 63.2 (62.6–63.7) | 28% |
| NAT | Science | 6,636 | 53.8 (53.2–54.3) | 10% |
| NAT | Araling Panlipunan | 6,636 | 62.1 (61.5–62.7) | 29% |
What this means for school heads
- Numeracy is the Grade 3 gap. It is ten points below the language components in every region. A Key Stage 1 numeracy intervention therefore follows the data in every region.
- The division is the unit of difference. Two divisions in the same region can sit thirty points apart. A school’s own division mean, not the regional mean, is the comparison that matters.
- A Grade 3 result predicts Grade 6. The same schools’ ELLNA and NAT means correlate at 0.62. A weak Grade 3 cohort signals a Grade 6 problem three years in advance.
- Language of instruction is confounded with region. Waray schools lead and Pangasinan schools trail, but language, region and poverty move together in this file. Use the result to ask questions, not to assign blame.
How these numbers were made
- Source: DepEd’s ELLNA SY 2023-24 selected-school file (Bureau of Education Assessment), joined to the SY 2023-24 school list on school ID (5,752 of 5,752 matched).
- Regional, divisional and language means weight each school by its test-takers. 95% intervals resample schools within each group 2,000 times; rank intervals come from the same draws.
- Component means use schools that took the component. Divisions are compared with the pooled mean with Benjamini–Hochberg adjustment.
- Bands are DepEd’s technical-notes bands applied to school means.
- ELLNA test-takers exceed Grade 3 beginning-of-year enrollment in 544 schools because the test was given in May and enrollment counted in August. The ratio’s median is 1.00.
Limits
The file covers 44 of 63 divisions in five regions and about half of the public Grade 3 schools inside them, selected by an unpublished rule. It gives school means, not learner scores, so the share of proficient learners cannot be computed. The technical notes state that percent-correct scores are not comparable from year to year, so these results show no trend. All results describe the assessed schools.
Frequently asked questions
What was the DepEd ELLNA Grade 3 mean score in SY 2023-2024?
The mean percentage score was 63.2 across the 5,752 assessed public schools in five regions, weighted by test-takers. Filipino averaged 66.9, English 64.5, Mother Tongue 62.2 and Numeracy 53.6.
Which DepEd division scored highest on the ELLNA in SY 2023-2024?
Ilocos Norte scored highest at 81.3 (95% interval 78.4 to 83.8). Tarlac (77.5), Nueva Ecija (76.5), Southern Leyte (76.0) and Biliran (75.5) followed. Pagadian City was lowest at 45.4.
Which ELLNA component is weakest?
Numeracy is weakest, at 53.6 overall and below 50 in CAR (42.5) and Region IX (44.2). Only 26% of assessed schools have a Numeracy mean of 75 or more.
Download the data
The cleaned, harmonized DepEd files behind this series are free to download in CSV and Parquet, with a codebook and checksums, under the terms of use set out in the release. Download Cleaned DepEd School Data, SY 2017-18 to 2025-26 documents every file and column. The files themselves are at data.nash.com.ph, starting with the README, the SY 2023-24 school master file (CSV, 8.0 MB) and the nine-year enrollment panel (Parquet, 17.2 MB).
More in this series
- DepEd Enrollment Trends SY 2017-2018 to SY 2025-2026
- Enrollment by school year: SY 2017-18, SY 2018-19, SY 2019-20, SY 2020-21, SY 2021-22, SY 2022-23, SY 2023-24, SY 2024-25, SY 2025-26
- DepEd Learner Data SY 2023-2024: IP, ALIVE and School Size
- DepEd Teachers and School Personnel Data, SY 2023-2024
- DepEd Classroom and School Building Data, SY 2023-2024
- DepEd WASH Data SY 2023-2024: Toilets, Water, Electricity
- DepEd ICT Data SY 2023-2024: Computers and Internet
- NAT Grade 6 Results SY 2023-2024: DepEd Division Scores
- CRLA Results SY 2025-2026: Reading Levels in Grades 1 to 3
- DepEd School Inputs vs Test Results: Multigrade and Internet
- DepEd Open Data Quality: Errors, Blanks and Coverage Limits
- Download Cleaned DepEd School Data, SY 2017-18 to 2025-26
- The full report: Philippine basic education in numbers
Guides for aspiring school heads
- DepEd Data for Aspiring School Heads: Where to Start
- NASH Practice Questions With Answers: 50 Items on the PPSSH
- How to Read DepEd Data: A Guide for Aspiring School Heads
- EDCOM II Final Report: Guide for Aspiring School Heads
- National Education Plan 2026-2035: Guide for School Heads
- NASH Study Guide: DepEd Memorandum 069, s. 2025 and PPSSH
- PPSSH Domain 1: Leading Strategically With DepEd Data
- PPSSH Domain 2: Managing School Operations With DepEd Data
- PPSSH Domain 3: Teaching and Learning With DepEd Data
- PPSSH Domain 4: Developing Self and Others With DepEd Data
- PPSSH Domain 5: Building Connections With DepEd Data
Analysis and charts by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Data: Department of Education public datasets. Charts may be reused only with written permission from support@nash.com.ph.