DepEd Grading System, DO 015, s. 2026: School Head's Role

DepEd Order (DO) No. 015, s. 2026 sets the Department of Education’s (DepEd) new rules for classroom assessment, grading, and awards in public schools from school year (SY) 2026-2027. It brings new component weights, a stricter transmutation table, zero-based grading from SY 2027-2028, descriptive grades for Kindergarten to Grade 3, and a single Academic Excellence Award. Below are each rule and what the school head must do to apply it.

For teachers preparing for the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH, formerly the NQESH) under DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025, and for new school heads, the order falls under four strands of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH) in DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020. These are strands 3.4 and 3.5 of Domain 3, Focusing on Teaching and Learning, and strand 1.7 of Domain 1, Leading Strategically. The fourth is strand 4.8 of Domain 4, Developing Self and Others.

Key points

• DO 015, s. 2026 repeals DO 8, s. 2015 and DO 36, s. 2016. One order now governs formative assessment, summative assessment, grading, promotion, and awards in all public schools from SY 2026-2027.
• Formative assessment is still not graded, and performance tasks carry the most weight. In English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science and similar learning areas, written or oral works count for 20%, performance tasks for 50% and examinations for 30%.
• The passing grade is still 75, but it is harder to reach. In SY 2026-2027 an initial grade of 70.00 transmutes to 75, where the 2015 table needed only 60. From SY 2027-2028 the computed grade is reported without transmutation.
• Learners who still fail one or two learning areas after summer remedial class are conditionally promoted. They carry back subjects, one per term. Learners who fail more than two learning areas are retained.
• The order sets one Academic Excellence Award with no honors levels. It goes to learners in Grades 4 to 12 with a general average of 90 or higher and no final grade below 80, listed alphabetically. Key Stage 1 learners receive no academic awards once their grades are descriptive; during the transition, schools may still give the award in Grades 2 and 3 while those grades use numerical grades.
• The school head leads the system. The order makes the school head validate class records, monitor grading, grant attendance exemptions, approve awards, and decide protests.

What DO 015, s. 2026 repeals and when it takes effect

DepEd issued DO 015, s. 2026 on June 4, 2026, over the signature of Secretary Sonny Angara. Its full title is Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program. It repeals DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015, the Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program. It also repeals DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016, the Policy Guidelines on Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program.

The order applies to all public schools that implement the Revised K to 10 Curriculum and the Strengthened Senior High School (SHS) Curriculum, beginning SY 2026-2027. The Revised K to 10 Curriculum is the MATATAG curriculum of DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2024. Private schools, state and local universities and colleges, and Philippine Schools Overseas are encouraged to adopt it. Any adaptation needs the approval of the DepEd Regional Office, or of the authorized office for schools overseas.

The order takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation and its filing with the Office of the National Administrative Register. Special programs may issue supplementary guidelines, provided these stay consistent with the order’s core principles.

The transition from SY 2026-2027 to SY 2028-2029

The order phases in descriptive grading for Key Stage 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3) and zero-based grading for the higher grades.

Two more rules apply in SY 2026-2027. Grade 12 has not yet moved to the Strengthened SHS Curriculum, so it keeps the weights of DO 8, s. 2015 with the adjusted transmutation table. In Grades 2 and 3, Makabansa uses weights of 20% for written or oral works, 50% for performance tasks and 30% for examinations.

Why DepEd revised the grading system

The order gives two reasons. First, the new curricula focus on essential learning competencies, foundational skills, and 21st-century competencies. Assessment must therefore become part of daily teaching rather than a separate event. Second, DepEd names the problems it wants to fix: “grade inflation, overreliance on transmutation, inconsistent promotion standards, and the limited use of assessment evidence to inform instruction” (Rationale, paragraph 3).

The sample class record in DO 8, s. 2015 shows what overreliance on transmutation means. Its Learner A in Grade 4 English had an initial grade of 84.86, which the 2015 table transmuted to 90, “Outstanding”. The adjusted table of DO 015 turns the same initial grade into 87. Zero-based grading would report it as 85. The learner’s work is the same in all three cases; only the conversion changes.

DepEd says zero-based grading “eliminates artificial inflation or compression of scores” (Annex D, paragraph 14). The policy statement adds four commitments. Assessment exists mainly to improve instruction and give feedback. Grading follows developmentally appropriate practice in every key stage. Grades and promotion decisions rest on clear criteria, sufficient and valid evidence, and consistent standards. Assessment also builds learner agency through reflection and self-assessment.

Formative and summative assessment under DO 015

DO 015 defines classroom assessment as a continuous process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting evidence of learner performance. It has two parts, formative and summative. Both must align with the curriculum standards and the essential learning competencies.

Formative assessment is for learning, not for grades

The order states the rule plainly: “Formative assessment shall be used to monitor learning progress but shall not be used for grade computation”. Teachers embed it before, during, and after instruction. They use the evidence to decide what to teach next, how to teach it, and which learners need support or enrichment. Feedback must be timely, specific, and actionable, for learners and for their parents or guardians.

The order recommends the ESRU model (Elicit, Student Response, Recognize, Use) of Ruiz-Primo and Furtak (2007). The teacher Elicits thinking with a question or task, the Student Responds, the teacher Recognizes what the response shows, and the teacher Uses it to adjust teaching. Teachers also involve learners through goal-setting, self- and peer-assessment, reflection, and progress tracking. The order calls this assessment as learning.

Formative records should be simple. Annex A asks for observation notes, learner outputs, and teacher reflection logs. For Kindergarten to Grade 3, Annex C adds that teachers are not required to record every formative interaction.

This rule matches the lesson planning order. “Assessing Learning” is the A in the ILAW framework (Intentions, Learning Experience, Assessing Learning, Ways Forward) of DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026, which asks for formative checks throughout each session. The guide to DepEd lesson planning under DO 016, s. 2026 explains that framework.

Summative assessment: written works, performance tasks, and examinations

Summative assessment measures achievement at defined points, such as the end of a lesson sequence or a term. It has three components.

The order calls these numbers flexible guidance, not fixed compliance requirements. In Grades 1 to 3, teachers decide how many summative assessments they need, and formal written examinations are limited. Schools must put assessment quality before quantity and avoid excessive checking, unnecessary documentation, and assessment overload. One performance task may serve as evidence for several learning areas, with each area scored on its own rubric (Annex B).

When the summative tests and the term examination are given

1. The first summative test covers the first 15 instructional days of the term and is given around the 16th instructional day.
2. The second summative test covers the next 15 instructional days and may be given around the 32nd instructional day.
3. The term examination is given in the final instructional days of the term. It covers mainly the competencies taught after the second summative test, plus selected critical or least-mastered competencies from earlier in the term.
4. All three are teacher-made, aligned with the competencies, and based on the lessons actually covered.
5. Each summative test has no more than half the number of items in the term examination.

Total points may vary with item type. The teacher’s Table of Specifications (TOS) guides the term examination.

How the cycle fits the three-term school calendar

DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026 replaced four quarters with three terms. SY 2026-2027 opened on June 8, 2026 and ends on April 8, 2027, with 201 class days. Each term has an Instructional Block and a two-week End-of-Term Block, and Term 1 starts with an Opening Block. DO 009 places the term examination in the last week of the Instructional Block.

The End-of-Term Block is for grade computation, remediation, training, and wellness breaks. DO 009 asks schools to distribute progress and performance reports at a parent-teacher conference on a working day in that block. It schedules Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program sessions after classes in the Instructional Block, for 30 to 60 minutes, two to four times a week. More ARAL sessions run in the End-of-Term Block. Learning action cell (LAC) sessions stay within the Instructional Block.

For the school head, each term follows the same sequence. Two summative tests come first, then remediation, then the term examination. Grade validation and the parent-teacher conference close the term.

Accommodations, artificial intelligence, and emergencies

• Learners with disabilities receive assessment accommodations in time, format, setting, and response mode. Schools plan and document them with parents or guardians and relevant specialists.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) use follows DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026. Term examinations and other supervised assessments are AI-prohibited, except when authorized for accessibility or approved purposes. Teachers label each task as Prohibited, Limited, or Guided AI use, and learners disclose any permitted use. Teachers may not enter personal learner data or official DepEd documents into AI platforms, and AI may not determine final grades.
• Emergencies follow DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026. At the HINAY (Ease-in) level, summative assessments are fewer and cover priority competencies. At the HINGA (Check-in) level, they are deferred. At the HINTO (Stop) level, no assessments are given.

DepEd grading weights by learning area and key stage

Grades 4 to 12 keep numerical grades. The order gives performance tasks the most weight, as the main evidence of understanding, application, and higher-order skills.

Within the examinations component, the first summative test counts for 30%, the second for 30%, and the term examination for 40%. In a learning area with a 30% examination weight, each summative test is therefore worth 9% of the term grade and the term examination 12%.

In Work Immersion, the written works are the learner’s portfolio, and the performance tasks are the industry evaluation or the grade from the workplace supervisor. In Research and in Design and Innovation, the written works are quizzes and progress documents, and the performance tasks are the major outputs. The order leaves further details to the implementing guidelines of the Strengthened SHS Curriculum.

GMRC in Key Stage 2 and Values Education in Key Stage 3 grade the cognitive, affective, and behavioral domains.

How a grade is computed under DO 015

Annex D gives the steps for Grades 4 to 12.

1. Add the raw scores in each component.
2. Convert each total to a percentage score: raw score ÷ highest possible score × 100.
3. Multiply each percentage score by the component’s weight to get the weighted score.
4. Add the weighted scores. The sum is the initial grade.
5. In SY 2026-2027, transmute the initial grade with the adjusted transmutation table. From SY 2027-2028, report the initial grade rounded to a whole number, with no transmutation. Either way, the result is the term grade.

The final grade in each learning area is the average of the three term grades, rounded to a whole number. The general average is the average of the final grades in all learning areas, also a whole number. In Grades 11 and 12 the general average uses the equivalent units of each subject, which a separate issuance will specify.

A worked example from the order

Annex D’s sample is a Science 6 learner in SY 2026-2027.

The examination percentage combines the three tests: 75 × 30% + 90 × 30% + 87.5 × 40% = 84.5. Under zero-based grading, the same learner would receive a term grade of 86. Annex D’s zero-based sample, Mathematics 7, has an initial grade of 83.6 and a term grade of 84.

The adjusted transmutation table for SY 2026-2027

The adjusted table maps initial grades from 70.00 to 100.00 onto term grades from 75 to 100, in steps of about 1.18 points. Initial grades below 70 map to 60 to 74, and 60 is the lowest grade that can be reported. Selected rows:

Under zero-based grading, Annex D keeps 60 as the default minimum on the report card. The order says this signals the need for support “without prematurely labeling learners as failures”.

DepEd grade descriptors: Advancing to Emerging

Every numerical grade comes with a descriptor and an instructional response. The remarks column comes from the sample performance report in Annex G.

Kindergarten uses three marks: CO for Consistent (Palagiang Naipapakita), DV for Developing (Umuusbong), and BG for Beginning (Nagsisimula). Grades 1 to 3 use the letters A to E for the five descriptors above, from Advancing to Emerging. When a numerical grade is formally required, as for a transfer to a school that does not yet use descriptive grades, the descriptors convert to the ranges in the table. These ranges are not exact computed grades, and the report must state that the original grade was descriptive.

Reporting to parents: School Form 9 (SF9) progress and performance reports

The SF9 takes two forms. In Kindergarten to Grade 3 it is the Learner’s Progress Report, with descriptive indicators, narrative remarks, and suggested next steps for parents or guardians. In Grades 4 to 12 it is the Learner’s Performance Report, with term grades, final grades, and descriptors. Both are issued at the end of each term and include the learner’s attendance.

• Kindergarten to Grade 3. Teachers record each learner’s most consistent level of performance on the Performance and Competency Evaluation (PACE) Form, progressively through the term. Class records stay mainly qualitative. Numerical equivalents may be derived for system-level reports, but they never replace descriptive reports for parents.
• Kindergarten. Assessment follows DepEd’s Tracking Our Progress guide for Kindergarten and avoids test-like methods.
• Grades 4 to 12. Final grades go into the class record and the performance report, and may come with feedback that guides remediation and enrichment.
• Submission and records. Teachers submit grades each term through official DepEd forms and digital systems, in line with DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2025. They keep assessment tools, rubrics, raw scores, and feedback records for at least one SY. Paper records go in secure cabinets in the school, digital records in official systems, and access is controlled and logged.

Promotion, retention and remediation under DO 015

The order’s starting point is that assessment results guide support “rather than serve as punitive measures” (paragraph 62). Schools must back every promotion decision with systematic interventions and accommodations.

Kindergarten to Grade 3

Promotion in Key Stage 1 is developmentally appropriate and non-punitive. It focuses on foundational literacy, numeracy, and socio-emotional development. The order states: “Learners shall not be retained solely based on age, a single assessment result, or academic performance”.

Retention may be recommended only when a learner still shows significant difficulty despite sustained interventions. The school makes that recommendation in consultation with the parents or guardians, when it serves the learner’s development. A Grade 3 checkpoint assessment may be given, but it is non-high-stakes and guides intervention. Annex C names early checkpoints such as the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), the Rapid Mathematics Assessment, and the first summative test. It sends learners at the Developing and Emerging levels to remediation such as ARAL. The CRLA results for SY 2025-2026 show the scale of that need in Grades 1 to 3.

Grades 4 to 12, and Grades 2 and 3 while still numerical

Promotion considers both achievement and participation in required interventions.

For learning areas with components, such as MAPEH and Effective Communication or Mabisang Komunikasyon, the final grade is the average of the components. A learner who fails one component but has an average of 75 or higher passes the learning area.

Summer remedial classes are part of the end-of-school-year intervention program, and a separate issuance will give their details. After remediation, the school issues a Certificate of Recomputed Final Grade. In the order’s template, the remedial class teacher prepares it, the school principal notes it, and the division office receives it.

Remediation starts within the term

The order aims to prevent failing grades, not only to fix them after the year ends. Remediation for learners who keep performing below expectations “shall begin as early as Week 5 following the first ST” (paragraph 68). It may take the form of classroom interventions, ARAL, or other school strategies. Teachers involved in remediation may be covered by DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024 on teachers’ workload and teaching overload. The guide to the six-hour teaching load explains when remediation counts as teaching load.

ARAL is based on Republic Act No. 12028, the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act of October 16, 2024. DO 009 notes that DepEd adapted it through DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025. Learners who show early mastery may receive enrichment, which does not affect grades.

Attendance and the 20 percent rule

A learner whose absences exceed 20% of the prescribed class days receives a failing grade and no credit, unless the absences are justified. The school head may grant exemptions case by case for valid reasons, with documentation. The learner must still complete the required tasks and assessments.

Teachers monitor attendance and act early. By the end of Term 1, or when a learner reaches about 12 absences, they give feedback and interventions to the learner and the parents. Learners with prolonged or recurring absences may be endorsed to a Flexible Learning Program or other interventions.

DepEd awards and recognition under DO 015

The order says awards should “affirm learner growth, integrity, and sustained effort” (paragraph 72). It recalibrates recognition to suit learners’ development and to support intrinsic motivation.

Kindergarten to Grade 3: no academic awards under descriptive grading

Once Key Stage 1 grades are descriptive, its learners receive no academic awards, to avoid early competition and labeling. Teachers give classroom awards instead.

• Character Traits Award, given at the end of each term, for values, positive learning behaviors, participation, and growth. Recognition is limited to five core awards, and teachers may adapt the titles if they stay aligned with the DepEd core values.
• Certificate of Merit, given to each learner at the end of the SY, naming the GMRC competency the learner most improved or excelled in.
• Perfect Attendance Award, for learners with no absences for the whole term, as shown in School Form 2 (SF2).

During the transition, schools may give Grades 2 and 3 the Academic Excellence Award and other grade-level awards, while those grades still use numerical grades.

Grades 4 to 12: grade-level awards

Four other rules change how schools recognize learners.

1. The order sets no With Honors, With High Honors, or With Highest Honors levels.
2. Schools issue a certification of actual academic rank only upon formal written request, for example for college applications.
3. All major awards come with a gold medal bearing the DepEd seal: 6 centimeters in diameter, 30 grams, with a 1-inch gold ribbon.
4. Awards from external sponsors are regulated by the school. They must be named after the trait, value, or achievement recognized, or after an esteemed person who is deceased.

The Awards Committee and the protest process

Each school organizes an Awards Committee for each grade level at the beginning of the SY; a small school may organize only one. It has at least three qualified members from the teaching staff, including a guidance counselor or designated teacher, and always an odd number. No member may be related within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity to any candidate.

For the Academic Excellence Award, the committee uses SF9 and School Form 10 (SF10), the permanent academic record. Committee members sign the deliberation results, and the school head certifies them. If the school head is related within the second degree to a candidate, the school head inhibits from the process, and the next ranking official approves.

A learner, with a parent or guardian, may file a protest with the school head within five working days of the announcement. The school head acts on it within two working days of filing, considering the committee’s recommendation, and documents every action.

Roles and responsibilities under DO 015

What the school head does, term by term

The order gives the school head duties at every point of the school year. This sequence follows the three-term calendar.

What a school head checks in classroom assessment

The school head’s job is not to grade learners but to make sure grades are valid. The order puts this in writing: class records “shall be subject to validation by school heads and instructional supervisors to ensure transparency, consistency, and accountability” (paragraph 54). Five checks cover most of that work.

Check 1: Alignment with the learning competencies

Each written work, performance task, summative test, and term examination should name the competencies it measures. The items should match those competencies in content and in level of thinking. The examinations must cover only lessons actually taught.

Annex A asks summative tasks to go beyond rote recall in every key stage. For performance tasks in Grades 7 to 10, it lists “SOLO taxonomy encouraged”, meaning the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. The NASH uses the same taxonomy to score answers.

Check 2: Test quality and the table of specifications

DO 015 requires the TOS to guide the term examination but prescribes no TOS format. A useful TOS sets items in proportion to the time spent on each competency. It also spreads items across the cognitive processes of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy of Anderson and Krathwohl (2001): remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create.

Here is an illustration for a 50-item Grade 8 term examination. Competencies 4 to 6 were taught after the second summative test. Competencies 2 and 3 were the least mastered on the two summative tests.

The school head reads the TOS for three things. The items should follow the time spent on each competency. Most items should cover the competencies taught after the second summative test, as paragraph 26 requires. Higher-order items should be present, as Table 4 requires for Grades 7 to 10.

Good item writing matters as much as the TOS. Teachers should keep the reading load suited to the learners, avoid trick questions and trivia, and make sure one item does not give away another. The position of correct answers should follow no pattern.

Check 3: Item analysis after the test

Item analysis shows which items worked. Teachers rank the papers, take the top and bottom groups, and compute two figures for each item.

• Difficulty index: the share of all learners who answered correctly.
• Discrimination index: the share of the top group who answered correctly, minus the share of the bottom group.

A widely used guide from Robert Ebel’s measurement texts treats a discrimination index of 0.40 or higher as very good and anything below 0.20 as poor. A negative index means more low-scoring learners than high-scoring learners got the item right, which usually points to a wrong key or an unclear item.

Item analysis also guides remediation. A competency whose items most learners missed is a candidate for reteaching and for the “least-mastered” part of the term examination.

Check 4: Fair and honest grades

The school head validates class records at the end of each term, and the order asks for this validation to be regular (paragraph 61). The school head checks the following.

• The weights match the learning area and grade level.
• In SY 2026-2027, the adjusted table is used, not the 2015 table. From SY 2027-2028, no table is used.
• No formative scores enter the computation.
• Every score comes from a written work, performance task, or examination. The order computes grades from these three components only, so points for anything else have no basis.
• Initial grades, term grades, and final grades are rounded as the order requires.
• Accommodations for learners with disabilities are documented.
• Grades for transfers from descriptive grading carry the required note.

Validation never means changing a grade without evidence. When a parent, an official, or the competition for awards puts pressure on a grade, the school head checks the computation against the class record. A correct grade stays as it is. That is what the order asks for when it requires that “reported achievement accurately reflects learner performance” (paragraph 10).

Check 5: Coaching teachers on assessment

Most assessment problems come from habit, not from dishonesty. Teachers who used the 2015 rules for more than ten years will tend to use the old weights and the old table. The school head’s tools are LAC sessions under DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016, walkthroughs, and short coaching conversations.

1. Use LAC sessions for shared work. Teachers of one learning area build a TOS together, write items, and review the item analysis of the last test.
2. Calibrate performance task scoring. Annex A encourages “scoring calibration and moderation” in Grades 7 to 10. Teachers score the same three outputs with the rubric, compare, and agree.
3. Plan integrative tasks. Annex B asks schools to use LAC sessions or end-of-term activities to plan integrative assessments for the next term.
4. Observe without rating. DO 016, s. 2026 encourages non-rated walkthroughs of about 10 to 15 minutes. Watch how the teacher uses formative evidence during the lesson.
5. Coach from the evidence. Start from the teacher’s own class record or item analysis, ask what it shows, agree on one change, and check it at the next summative test.

A short exchange shows the tone. “Your item analysis shows that half the class missed items 18 to 22. What do those items have in common?” The teacher sees they all test one competency taught in two days. “Then that competency needs reteaching before the term examination. Which ARAL session can take it?” The guide to instructional supervision for school heads covers these conversations in more detail.

DO 8, s. 2015 and DO 36, s. 2016 vs DO 015, s. 2026: what changed

Several rules did not change. Formative assessment results still stay out of grades. The passing grade is still 75 and the lowest reported grade is still 60. Summer remedial classes are still for learners who fail at most two learning areas. The recomputed final grade is still the average of the final grade and the remedial class mark. Absences above 20% of class days still mean a failing grade unless the school head grants an exemption.

PPSSH strands and Career Stage 1 indicators for classroom assessment

Serving school heads are measured at Career Stage 2. Indicator 3.5.2 reads: “Provide technical assistance to teachers in using learning assessment tools, strategies and results consistent with curriculum requirements to ensure accountability in achieving higher learning outcomes”. Indicator 3.4.2 reads: “Utilize learning outcomes in developing data-based interventions to maintain learner achievement and attain other performance indicators”. The guide to PPSSH Domain 3, Teaching and Learning and the PPSSH guide cover the other strands.

Practice: how the NASH may test this

Expect situational items in which a teacher, a parent, or a committee acts on grades. You must choose the school head’s response. The best option usually follows DO 015 and also does the right thing for learners: it uses evidence, acts early, follows the process the order sets, and keeps grades honest. Options that raise a grade without evidence, or that skip a step the order requires, score low however helpful they seem. The three items below follow that pattern. More items are in the NASH practice questions with answers and the timed sets on the NASH Reviewer assessment page.

Question 1

Indicator 3.5.1, Learning assessment. Career Stage 1, Conceptual, Easy.

A Grade 5 teacher gives a five-item exit ticket at the end of every Mathematics lesson. She asks whether she should record the scores as written works, so that her learners will have more grades in the term. Which reply is most consistent with DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026?

• A. Record the exit tickets as written works, since more scores in the class record make each term grade steadier and less dependent on a single test.
• B. Use the exit tickets to decide what to reteach the next day and to give learners feedback, and keep graded written works for tasks planned as summative evidence.
• C. Keep the exit tickets out of the class record, and file all of them in a folder as proof that formative assessment was done in every lesson of the term.
• D. Keep the exit tickets ungraded, and use the scores at the end of the school year to list the learners who should attend the summer remedial class.

Answer and explanation

Best answer: B. Points: A = 0, B = 3, C = 1, D = 2.

• A (0 points, Prestructural). DO 015 says formative assessment shall not be used for grade computation. Recording exit tickets as written works breaks that rule, whatever the reason.
• B (3 points, Relational). This links the rule to its purpose. The exit ticket stays ungraded, its evidence changes the next lesson, learners get feedback, and the class record holds only planned summative tasks.
• C (1 point, Unistructural). It gets the grading rule right but treats formative assessment as paperwork. The evidence is filed, not used, and the order warns against unnecessary documentation.
• D (2 points, Multistructural). It keeps the tickets ungraded and uses them to find learners who need help, but it waits until the end of the year. The order wants formative evidence to guide teaching now and remediation within the term.

Why. Indicator 3.5.1 asks the aspiring school head to understand assessment tools and the use of their results. Under DO 015, formative assessment exists to improve learning while it happens, through cycles such as ESRU. The best reply keeps formative and summative evidence apart and puts the formative evidence to work the next day.

Indicator 3.5.1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of learning assessment tools, strategies and utilization of results consistent with curriculum requirements.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, paragraphs 14 to 20 and Annex A; DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026.

Question 2

Indicator 3.4.2, Learner achievement and other performance indicators. Career Stage 2, Situational, Moderate.

You are the principal of a junior high school. After the first summative test in Term 1, the Grade 8 Science teachers report that 40% of learners scored below expectations. They propose to wait for the term examination, then send the learners who fail the year to summer remedial class. What is the most appropriate action?

• A. Approve the plan, since summer remedial classes are the remediation the order provides for learners who fail at most two learning areas at year’s end.
• B. Ask the teachers to add class participation points to the summative test scores, so that fewer learners fall below 75 before the term grade is computed.
• C. Have the teachers start targeted remediation within the term, such as ARAL sessions after classes, and inform the parents of the learners concerned.
• D. Review the item results with the teachers to find the least-mastered competencies, start remediation within the term, inform parents, and track the learners on the second test.

Answer and explanation

Best answer: D. Points: A = 1, B = 0, C = 2, D = 3.

• A (1 point, Unistructural). Summer remedial classes do exist, but they come after final grades are computed. The order wants remediation within the term, from Week 5 after the first summative test, to prevent failure.
• B (0 points, Prestructural). Adding points that do not measure the competencies inflates grades and hides the problem. Grades must rest on valid evidence and accurately reflect performance.
• C (2 points, Multistructural). It acts early, uses ARAL, and involves parents, all of which fit the order. It does not use the test data to find the competencies learners did not master, or check whether the remediation worked.
• D (3 points, Relational). It connects the data to the action. Item results show what to reteach, remediation starts within the term, parents are informed, and the second summative test checks the effect.

Why. Indicator 3.4.2 asks serving school heads to turn learning outcomes into data-based interventions. DO 015 supplies the timing (Week 5) and the channels (classroom intervention, ARAL), and DO 009 puts ARAL sessions inside the Instructional Block. The best option uses the summative test as data, not only as a grade.

Indicator 3.4.2: Utilize learning outcomes in developing data-based interventions to maintain learner achievement and attain other performance indicators.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, paragraphs 10, 67 and 68; DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026; Republic Act No. 12028.

Question 3

Indicator 4.8.1, Rewards and recognition mechanism. Career Stage 1, Situational, Moderate.

The Awards Committee’s list for Grade 10 leaves out a learner with a general average of 94. Her final grade in MAPEH is below the minimum that DO 015 sets for the Academic Excellence Award. Three working days after the list is announced, her parents file a protest with you. They ask you to have the MAPEH teacher raise the grade by one point. What should you do?

• A. Act on the protest within the period the order sets: get the Awards Committee’s recommendation, verify the MAPEH grade against the class record, and explain the decision in writing.
• B. Ask the MAPEH teacher to look again at the learner’s performance tasks for rubric points that could be added, since the gap is only a single point.
• C. Dismiss the protest, since the Awards Committee has already deliberated and you approved the final list before it was announced to the school.
• D. Explain the award criteria to the parents and uphold the list, since a high general average cannot make up for a final grade below the minimum.

Answer and explanation

Best answer: A. Points: A = 3, B = 0, C = 1, D = 2.

• A (3 points, Relational). It follows the protest process of Annex H and tests the one fact that could change the result, whether the grade was computed correctly. It also leaves a written record, which the order requires.
• B (0 points, Prestructural). Searching for points to reach a cut-off is grade inflation. A school head who asks for it puts the fairness of every award at risk.
• C (1 point, Unistructural). It respects the committee’s work, but the order gives learners the right to protest within five working days. Dismissing a timely protest skips the required process.
• D (2 points, Multistructural). The criteria are stated correctly and the outcome may well be right. It still skips the verification of the grade and the committee’s recommendation, so the decision rests on an unchecked record.

Why. Indicator 4.8.1 asks school heads to reward and recognize learners for exemplary performance. Recognition means something only if the criteria are applied the same way to everyone. DO 015 sets the criteria, the committee, and the protest timeline, and the school head’s role is to apply them and document the decision.

Indicator 4.8.1: Reward and recognize learners, school personnel and other stakeholders for exemplary performance and/ or support.

Sources: DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, paragraph 75 and Annex H, paragraphs 4 and 8 to 14.

Frequently asked questions

What is DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026?

DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 is DepEd’s Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, issued on June 4, 2026. It repeals DO 8, s. 2015 and DO 36, s. 2016 and applies to public schools from SY 2026-2027.

What is the passing grade in the DepEd new grading system 2026?

The passing grade is still 75. In SY 2026-2027, a learner needs an initial grade of at least 70.00 for the adjusted table to give a 75. From SY 2027-2028, the computed grade itself must reach 75, because zero-based grading uses no transmutation.

Are With Honors and With High Honors still given under DO 015, s. 2026?

No; DO 015, s. 2026 sets no honors levels. It gives one Academic Excellence Award to learners in Grades 4 to 12 with a general average of 90 or higher and no final grade below 80. Awardees must also have no derogatory record or disciplinary case in the school year. They are listed alphabetically, and a school certifies a learner’s rank only upon written request.

What happens if a learner fails one or two subjects under DO 015, s. 2026?

The learner attends a summer remedial class, and a recomputed final grade of 75 or higher means promotion. A learner who still fails one or two learning areas is conditionally promoted and takes them as back subjects, one per term. A learner who fails more than two learning areas is retained.

Do Kindergarten to Grade 3 learners still get numerical grades?

Not after the transition: Kindergarten and Grade 1 get descriptive grades from SY 2026-2027, Grade 2 from SY 2027-2028, and Grade 3 from SY 2028-2029. Until then, Grades 2 and 3 use numerical grades. Key Stage 1 learners receive classroom awards such as the Character Traits Award, not academic awards.

More on school leadership

This post is part of a series on what a school head does under the DepEd rules in force today. The other posts, in reading order:

• RA 9155 Duties of DepEd School Heads: 12 Areas Explained
• Leadership vs Management for School Heads: Five Practices
• DepEd Revised SBM: DO 007, s. 2024 and the Self-Assessment
• DepEd School Improvement Plan (SIP): Steps, AIP and SRC
• Root Cause Analysis for the DepEd School Improvement Plan
• Organizational Diagnosis Models in Schools: 7S, SWOT, PESTLE
• Change Management in Schools: A Guide for DepEd School Heads
• DepEd ILAW Lesson Plan, DO 016, s. 2026: School Head’s Role
• DepEd Contextualization, Localization and Indigenization
• DepEd Instructional Supervision: Observing and Coaching
• DepEd Learning Action Cell (LAC) Guidelines: DO 35, s. 2016
• DepEd PMES for Teachers: DM 089, s. 2025 for School Heads
• DepEd Enhanced ALS, Inclusive Education and Special Programs
• Human Resource Management for DepEd School Heads
• DepEd School MOOE: Allowable Expenses and Liquidation
• RA 6713 for DepEd School Heads: Ethics and Internal Control
• Leadership Styles of School Heads: What the Evidence Says
• Instructional Leadership for DepEd School Heads
• Principal, Head Teacher or Teacher-in-Charge in DepEd
• OPCRF for DepEd School Heads in 2026: What Applies Now
• RA 9155 at 25: Why Shared Governance Has Not Happened
• On the app: The roles of a school head, the six roles in one guide, and the PPSSH guide

Sources

• DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, June 4, 2026, with Annexes A to H.
• DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015, Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program (repealed).
• DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016, Policy Guidelines on Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program (repealed).
• DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education.
• DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026, Guidelines on Lesson Planning and Learning Design.
• DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026, Guidelines on Learning Continuity in Emergencies.
• DepEd Order No. 003, s. 2026, Foundational Guidelines on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Basic Education.
• DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025, Implementing Guidelines of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program.
• DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2025, Guidelines on the Streamlining of School Forms and Reports Accomplished by Teachers.
• DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024, Rationalization of Teachers’ Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload.
• DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2024, Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of the MATATAG Curriculum.
• DepEd Order No. 35, s. 2016, The Learning Action Cell as a K to 12 Basic Education Program School-Based Continuing Professional Development Strategy.
• DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads.
• DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025, Administration of the National Assessment for School Heads for Fiscal Year 2025.
• Republic Act No. 12028, Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program Act, October 16, 2024.
• Anderson, Lorin W., and David R. Krathwohl, editors. A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. 2001.
• Ruiz-Primo, Maria Araceli, and Erin Marie Furtak. 2007. “Exploring Teachers’ Informal Formative Assessment Practices and Students’ Understanding in the Context of Scientific Inquiry”. Journal of Research in Science Teaching 44 (1): 57-84.
• Ebel, Robert L., and David A. Frisbie. Essentials of Educational Measurement.

Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 and its Annexes A to H; DepEd Orders No. 8, s. 2015, No. 36, s. 2016, No. 009, s. 2026, No. 016, s. 2026, No. 014, s. 2026, No. 003, s. 2026, No. 018, s. 2025, No. 006, s. 2025, No. 005, s. 2024, No. 010, s. 2024 and No. 35, s. 2016; DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020 and the PPSSH; Republic Act No. 12028.