Competence and difficulties in general biology of grade 12 students in the new normal

This research aimed to find out the competence level and difficulties of the Senior High School students taking Biology as a subject. Descriptive and comparative analyses were employed to analyze the data using Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis. Catholic Senior High School in the Philippines, Online Google Forms, 2021The respondents of this test were randomly selected from the total number of students who answered the questionnaire; the total number of respondents was 191.The questionnaire was used as the primary research instrument in data gathering. It was adapted from and based on the Department of Education of the Philippines learning curriculum guide for Senior High School Biology, otherwise known as Most Essential Learning Codes. Results shows that males have very low overall competence in General Biology I (M=40.76, SD=17.12) compared to females with low overall competence in the subject (M=52.70, SD=17.86).There is a significant difference in the level of competence in General Biology when Grade 12 senior high school students are grouped according to sex (U=2627.0, p=0.000), and parents' profession (χ2(2)=11.325, p=0.003).The respondents of the study answered a survey with a yes to most of the eight choices. There is a significant difference in the level of competence in General Biology when Grade 12 senior high school students are grouped according to sex and parents’ profession. Various difficulties that plague students in taking biology subjects exist.