Abstract
The Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act No. 10533), the additional two years of Senior High School, aims to broaden the goal of high school education for college preparation. As prescribed by RA 10533, the curriculum shall be relevant, responsive, and research-based. This study aims to determine students' research skills in senior high school through self-assessment in Inquiry-Based Learning. This study utilized a quantitative approach, merging descriptive-comparative and correlational design with 80 respondents from Grade 11 and 12 STEM students. The research utilized an adopted questionnaire by Santiago (2022), composed of 21 items, using the proposed 7-point Likert scale based on mastery classification. The mean score of the level of research skills of Grade 12 (m=4.97 s=.89) was higher than that of Grade 11 students (m=4.57 s= 1.09), with a t-test result for the independent sample (p=0.074) revealed no significant difference between the mean scores when the group to year level. However, there is a strong direct correlation between academic achievement and level of research skills and vice versa. Conclusively, research training and skills start at the primary level, which translates to the secondary level and reaches the senior high school level as a preparatory stage for college to develop scientific literacy. Thus, initiatives, such as workshops, programs, and developmental training, are recommended for students to enhance their processing and managing skills to enhance and advance their academic research endeavors.
