The Socio-Economic Divide In Scientific Literacy: A Secondary Analysis Of The Pisa 2022 Results For Philippine Schools

This study presents a secondary analysis of the PISA 2022 dataset to investigate the socio-economic determinants of scientific literacy among 15-year-old students in the Philippines. Despite ongoing curricular reforms, national performance in science remains significantly stratified. This research quantifies the achievement gap between the bottom and top 25% of the socio-economic scale and evaluates the extent to which household resources, such as internet access and parental education, drive these disparities. Using a comparative statistical model, the study further isolates the institutional "school effect" by adjusting for student socio-economic status, revealing that the performance gap between public and private schools narrows from 44 points to a negligible 8 points. The findings indicate that the scientific literacy crisis is largely a function of unequal access to cultural and digital capital rather than institutional quality alone. The analysis identifies the interpretation of scientific data as the primary competency deficit, compounded by the cognitive load of language barriers. These results underscore the limitations of current school-based interventions and highlight the necessity for targeted, resource-based policies that support disadvantaged households. The study concludes that educational equity in the Philippines requires a systemic shift toward addressing the socio-economic drivers of learning to bridge the achievement divide.