The Cutting Edge

Are PSHS students really as good as the hype suggests? Are they better than the rest? How well do they compare vis-a-vis the private schools? One way of measuring is to compare the performance of its graduates in local and international events.

 

NSAT
Until a few years ago, the Department of Education conducted the annual  National Secondary Achiivement Test ( NSAT) to measure the level of mastery of desired learning competencies in five subject areas namely English, Filipino, Science, Mathematics, and Araling Panlipunan.

As expected, the PSHS Main Campus in Diliman had consistently ranked no. 1 in the country ahead of private schools such as Ateneo, La Salle, Poveda, and other city science high schools such as Manila Science and Quezon City Science.

U.S SAT
Every year, an average of 5{1104248511d637c6a51014dcaacb77de829b1de96a4faa7392b7bed9a15aa427} of graduating PSHS students take the U.S Scholastic Achivement Test for possible acceptance into U.S colleges and universities.

For schoolyear 2003- 2004, five PSHS SAT examinees scored a perfect 800 in the SAT I Math test – an impressive feat considering thai only one in 1000 on average gets a perfect score. Even more impressive is the fact that all of the PSHS SAT I examinees scored 1400 or higher on the cornbined math and verbal tests, which is equivalent to at least 97 percentile.

ln 2003, Joshua Monzon, for example was offered a fuli scholarship at the prestigious Massachusetts lnstitute of Technology. Ricardo del Rosario accepted an offer to pursue a degree in computer engineering from the 5th ranked Georgia Institute of Technoiogy in Atlanta, Georgia.

UPCAT
Another objective measure is how well the PSHS graduates perform in the University of the Phlippines' College Admission Test (UPCAT) The University of the Philippines System is the country's preeminent higher education institution. Much like the Philippine Science High School, tens of thousands apply and only a thousand or so are taken in every year. PSHS graduates continue to be the best-performing among all high schools with the highest qualifying rate. Of the class of 2002, for example, 90{1104248511d637c6a51014dcaacb77de829b1de96a4faa7392b7bed9a15aa427} quaiified and were offered admission into UP. There had been several times in the last 30 years when PSHS experienced 100{1104248511d637c6a51014dcaacb77de829b1de96a4faa7392b7bed9a15aa427} acceptance.

The UP System also awards the top 50 UPCAT examinees every year with what is called the Oblation Scholarship. Recipients of the scholarship enjoy free tuition and are invited to enter the elite Intarmed program of the University. Although PSHS fields a very small group of UPCAT examinees each year compared to other schools – only 200 to 230 from the main campus usually – and over 30,000 may take the UPCAT in a single year, PSHS has consistently taken the lion's share of Oblation Scholarships

For 2002-2003, PSHS graduates took 17 of the first 50 positions. There were several years when PSHS graduates took over 30 of the 50 scholarship seats.

Two student leaders from phlippine Science High School (extreme right ) are shown together with participants  and their advisers from other schools during an APEC – sponsored  Youth Conference held in Korea.

Well – Rounded Education

Although the curriculum focus in PSHS is on science, math and technology, students are known to also excel in non-science and technology endeavors, a testimony to the multi-dimensional education that the school provides

Jose Raphael Doval-Santos, Class '02 of PSHS Main, for example,was recently awarded an lnternational Poet of Merit Medailion by the U.S. Library of Congress for his piece entitled "Remember," which was published in a volume of poetry called "The Silence Within" (ISBN 0-7951-5062-8).

Sci-Link, the school paper of PSHS Western Visayas Campus, won the best English High School Newspaper in the Country in the 2001 National Schools Press Confenence held in General Santos City.

Marc Titus Cebreros of FSHS EVC was narned National Charnpion in the Rarnon Magsaysay Essay Writing Contest.

Datu Adid Candao got the top prizes in two national writing conrpetitions. His works were published in two leading dailies.

Singapore Government Scholarships

Recently, the Singapore government has been awarding scholarship grants to Philippine high school graduates. Recipients of this scholarship are fully sponsored for their four-year undergraduaie studies at the Nanyang Technological University and the Nationai University of Singapore. Again, PSHS graduates cop the largest share of grants; for 2001, for example, PSHS students took seven of ten slots awarded.

International Competitions

Another set of measurement to demonstrate the comparative excellence of high school students is how well they do in local and international inter-school fairs and competitions. PSHS students seriously contend for the top prizes in most of these.

The Intel Science and Engineering Fair ( ISEF) Known as the "Olympics of science competitions," attracts competitors from more than 40 countries. The ISEF showcases research projects of more than 1,200 of the world's best young scientists and inventors who compete for $3.5M in awards and scholarships.

Among the 1,200 delegates in the ISEF held in San Jose, California were four Filipino students from two PSHS campuses. One such project from the Main Campus was entitled "Neural Network Forecasting of Chlorophyl Concentration in the South China Sea. " The PSHS presentor, Reinabelle Reyes, won an award by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the college scholarship ceremony.

Roy  Canseco, Jenny Aggangan, Joy Charisse Bulan, and Cheryll Ann Limos of PSHS Main Campus won the 2003 Intel-Phlippines National Research Competition and vied  in the international science and engineering fair held at Cleveland, Ohio.

Another prestigious science fair regularly participated in by PSHS is the National Primary and High Schools Science Fair of Taiwan. In 2001, two students of the Main Campus competed with 23 other delegates from Pan Pacific couniries. The project of Derek Yao entitled "ldentification of Chromosome Karyotypes Using Optical Character Recognition" won second place in the Physics Category.

Four student from Phlippine Sciece High School are shown with other finalists from the Phlippines during the 2003 INTEL international Science and Engineerin Fair held in Cleveland, Ohio.

In the China National Junior High School Mathematical Olympiad held in Nanchang, China in August 2001, the three candidates of PSHS Main Campus bagged the top three honors in the individual category of Mathematical Reasoning Skills. One of the three boys also won 2nd place in the Problem Solving Skills category.

In the 33rd International World Youth Math Inter-City Competition held in Tagaytay City, participants from three PSHS campuses won the silver and bronze medals

In the ASIMO Educational Show held last August 13, 2003 in the Intercontinental Hotel in Makati City, four PSHS Main students emerged as the champions.

On August 23, 2003, a Maze-Solving Robot Competition was held at the Shangri-la Mall in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila where six PSHS Main Campus scholars got the first place.

In the 44th International Mathematics Olympiad, the PSHS Main Campus was represented by Jose Ramon Batiller and Gerard Tensuan as competitors while a facutly, Jose Manresa Espanol of PSHS-Class 1992 served as Deputy Team Leader.

On september 11, 2003, UP Diliman held the College of Engineering Technofair where PSHS representatives won seven top awards in the ten events.

The PSHS Junior scholars were finalists in the Philippine Robotics Olympiad.

PSHS Main Campus students Jose Ramon Batiller copped the grand prize and Ramon Marfil won the highest distinction award in 2003 Australian Mathematics Competition. Both were given the distinction to be among the world's best in mathematics (high school level)

Outstanding Faculty

A major contributor to the highest esteem and accolades accorded PSHS is the quality of its faculty, which is second to none in the country. The PSHS System faculty is the most educated among all of the country's high schools, with 25{1104248511d637c6a51014dcaacb77de829b1de96a4faa7392b7bed9a15aa427} of the 268 teachers possessing at least a Master's degree and 17 faculty members and administrators having doctoral degrees.

A continuing faculty development program is a requirement to keeping the quality of instruction high. At present, 53{1104248511d637c6a51014dcaacb77de829b1de96a4faa7392b7bed9a15aa427} of the teachers are pursuing graduate studies and 11 are enroled in Ph.D. programs. Some of the faculty members are pursuing their studies abroad tirough scholarship grants.

Dickerson Moreno is pursuing a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Missouri in Missouri, USA.

Dickerson Moreno is pursuing a Ph.D. in
Nuclear Engineering at the University of
Missouri in Missouri, USA.

Jessamyn Yazon is pursuing a Ph.D. in
Curriculum Studies at the University of British
Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Frederick Talaue has just completed an M.S. in
Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from the
Vrije Universiteit in Brussels, Belgium,

Annie lgnacio has just earned an M.A. in
Curriculum Studies at the Victoria University rn
Melbourne, Australia.

The faculty is also known in award circles. Dr. Josette Biyo, a Science Research Teacher at the Western Visayas Campus, won the most recent Intel Foundation Excellence in Teaching Award during the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2002. She was the first non-US teacher to win teh award since its inception in 1997. Dr. Biyo bested four other finalists from the United States and China and 90 other participants worldwide in the field of S{1104248511d637c6a51014dcaacb77de829b1de96a4faa7392b7bed9a15aa427}T Teaching. She received a $5,000 cash prize, a high-end desktop PC, and a $20,000 grant.

The Metrobank Foundation, which sponsors the prestigious "Outstanding Educator Award" every year, has awarded PSHS faculty five times during an eight-year timeframe:

• 1986: Helen Ladera, English
• 1990: Lilia Vergara, Chemistry
• 1991: Lilian Alfonso, Biology
• 1994: Luzita Alcid, Physics
• 1997: Josette Biyo, Biology & Research