Koko suggests standardized college admission test

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education and higher education institutions should work together to create a standardized test for K-12 graduates to replace costly examinations for prospective college students, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said Sunday.

 

"At present all students at the Grade 6, 10, and 12 levels are given the National Achievement Test. If this is considered insufficient to provide Philippine college admission offices with a means by which to assess applicants, then I encourage our educators to work together to come up with something akin to the US' SAT and ACT (American College Testing) so that parents need not spend for so many entrance exams," said Pimentel.

 

Both standardized admission tests, which colleges and universities use alongside grades and other requirements to screen applicants, are administered by non-profit organizations in the US.

 

Pimentel said parents had approached him about the costs of entrance exams at major universities. He said they told him the high costs were a barrier to trying to enter college.

 

"It is understandable for these kids to want to have options when it comes to college, and naturally their parents want to give them the opportunities. But if applying at one school requires a 500-peso fee, then applying to four, five schools can be quite expensive," he said.

 

He said state schools like the University of the Philippines (P450, with some exemptions) and Polytechnic University of the Philippines (P500) but have to screen thousands more than private schools do.

 

"Even assuming these schools only charge half of the applicants the full rate, this means that, conservatively, UP and PUP earn something like 20 million pesos and 15 million pesos, respectively, on entrance fees each year. Does it really cost that much to administer these exams?" he said.