DUNONG, the Dashboard for Understanding NASH Outcomes and Grade-Generation System, is the analytics platform that, according to the Education Center for AI Research (ECAIR), scores the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH). ECAIR, which built and maintains it with DepEd’s Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development (BHROD) and the National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP), describes it on a project page dated May 31, 2026. There, ECAIR says DUNONG “scores examinee responses, categorizes results by competency level, and presents these findings through an interactive analytics dashboard”, and that the platform helps DepEd “interpret NASH outcomes, generate Individual Development Reports”. ECAIR says it has processed both FY 2025 NASH batches.

DUNONG applies DepEd’s rules; it does not set them. The scoring method, the cut of 65 and the three competency levels are in DepEd’s results memoranda, DepEd Memorandum No. 097, s. 2025 for Batch 1 and DepEd Memorandum No. 044, s. 2026 for Batch 2. Those memoranda describe the method but do not name the system that applied it. A taker sees the results through an Individual Certificate of Rating in the DepEd Learning Management System (LMS) and an Individual Development Report (IDR) sent to the taker’s official DepEd email (DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025, para. 12; for Batch 1, DM 097, s. 2025, para. 9).

Key findings

  • ECAIR says DUNONG scores the NASH and helps DepEd generate the development reports. By ECAIR’s account, it scores responses, sorts results by competency level, runs an analytics dashboard and helps DepEd generate IDRs (ECAIR, May 31, 2026).
  • ECAIR built it with BHROD and NEAP (ECAIR, May 31, 2026). ECAIR was set up by DepEd and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) under DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2025, which says it “will operate primarily for DepEd” (para. 4).
  • The method it applies is DepEd’s. For FY 2025, each response was scored 0 to 3, indicator totals were standardized and converted to a scale of 1 to 100, and the competency level depended on scores of 65 overall and by domain (DM 044, s. 2026, paras. 4–5).
  • ECAIR says it has processed two administrations. ECAIR counts 11,308 examinees and 4,410 prospective candidates for September 2025, and 23,848 and 8,771 for May 2026. DepEd’s memoranda count 4,408 prospective candidates in Batch 1 (computed from DM 097, s. 2025, para. 5) and 8,771 in Batch 2.
  • The IDR tells a taker what to work on. It summarizes “the taker’s strengths, areas for improvement, and recommended developmental interventions” (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 9).
  • DepEd disclaims paid review providers. DepEd “is not affiliated with any individual or institution offering monetary value in exchange for review of classes or claiming access to the content of the examination” (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 14). Only DepEd’s certificate states an official result.

What DUNONG does

ECAIR’s description lines up with the steps the FY 2025 results memoranda set out:

Step What ECAIR says DUNONG does What DepEd’s memoranda set
Score each response “scores examinee responses” Each response scored 0 to 3, “where 0 = incorrect and 3 = most correct” (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 4.a)
Compute indicator, domain and overall scores Not stated separately Indicator totals “standardized using z-statistics” and converted to 1 to 100; domain and overall scores are weighted averages of z-scores, converted again to 1 to 100 (para. 4.b–d)
Assign a competency level “categorizes results by competency level” Meeting PPSSH standards in four domains or in three domains (65 or higher overall and in at least four or three domains), or With Developmental Areas (para. 5)
Write the development report Helps DepEd “generate Individual Development Reports” IDRs sent to takers’ official DepEd email (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 12; DM 097, s. 2025, para. 9)
Present the results “an interactive analytics dashboard” No provision; the memoranda publish national counts and Regional Top Performer lists

The memoranda name the statistical model as the “Ordinal Partial Credit Model” (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 4). Neither they nor ECAIR’s page publish the formula that converts standardized scores to the scale of 1 to 100. That formula decides what a 65 means. NASH Results 2025 Explained sets out why a 65 is a standing among the takers of one batch, not a percentage of items answered correctly.

ECAIR also says DUNONG supports the school leadership, teacher quality and system capacity reforms “championed by EDCOM II” (the Second Congressional Commission on Education), and aligns with “Q-BEDP’s focus on professional development and school governance” and the Philippine Development Plan. It says the platform’s handling of data rests on “responsible analytics, structured access control, and careful handling of sensitive assessment data”. These are ECAIR’s descriptions of its own system.

The dashboard view pictured on ECAIR’s page, “Region vs NASH Domains”, gives the share of examinees scoring 65 and below in each domain for 16 regions. Its 80 figures match, within a point, the FY 2023 NQESH regional results in the SIKAP brief (Figure 12, p. 22), so it shows the 2023 examination, not the FY 2025 NASH batches.

Who built it and who runs the NASH

Three offices share the work, and DUNONG sits between them.

Office Role Source
BHROD, through its Human Resource Development Division (HRDD) Administers the NASH on the DepEd LMS and answers questions on the results DM 097, s. 2025, paras. 3, 11; DM 044, s. 2026, paras. 3, 9
ECAIR Built and maintains DUNONG, “the scoring and analytics infrastructure that turns raw assessment data into insights DepEd can act on” ECAIR, May 31, 2026
NEAP Designs and runs the Targeted Development Program (TDP) and Professional Development Interventions (PDI) that follow the results DM 044, s. 2026, para. 6; DM-OULS-2026-397

ECAIR operates primarily for DepEd but is not a government office. DO 013, s. 2025 says DepEd “has partnered with the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) for the establishment of the Education Center for AI Research (ECAIR)” (para. 2). ECAIR works in direct coordination with the Office of the Secretary, with the Undersecretary and Chief of Staff as its oversight head (para. 6). Its research expenses for DepEd programs are charged against Office of the Secretary funds (para. 7). The Order “does not make ECAIR a governmental office and its employees and officers are not deemed employees of the government or public officers” (para. 8). ECAIR’s page calls DUNONG “developed in-house within the Department of Education”.

The results feed NEAP’s programs directly. Under the guidelines for Batch 2 (DM-OULS-2026-397, September 7, 2026), TDP participants complete learning activities “based on their NASH competency profile” (Enclosure No. 2). SIKAP Study on Aspiring Principals: Findings Explained describes both programs’ phases: two for the TDP and three for the PDI.

DUNONG in the SIKAP study

DUNONG also appears in the SEAMEO INNOTECH and ECAIR policy brief on principal preparation, Strengthening and Improving the Knowledge Advancement of Aspiring Principal (SIKAP) in the Philippines. There it is the “Dashboard for Understanding NQESH Outcomes and Grade-generation System”, an application “developed by DepEd, through ECAIR”. The brief proposes a national development program in which candidates take the NASH and “interventions on each trainee will be based on data-driven insights on leadership readiness and competency gaps” from DUNONG (SIKAP, pp. iii, 36). The name now refers to the NASH, the assessment that replaced the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) under DM 069, s. 2025 (para. 1).

ECAIR’s figures and the memoranda

ECAIR’s “registered” counts equal the memoranda’s counts of takers who completed the assessment. Its prospective candidates match DepEd’s for Batch 2 and are two more than DepEd’s for Batch 1:

Measure ECAIR (May 31, 2026) DepEd memoranda
Batch 1 (September 2025), takers 11,308 “registered” 11,385 takers, 11,308 completed (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 3)
Batch 1, prospective candidates 4,410 4,408: 2,899 in four domains and 1,509 in three (para. 5; sum computed)
Batch 2 (May 2026), takers 23,848 “registered” 23,994 registered, 23,848 completed (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 3)
Batch 2, prospective candidates 8,771 8,771: 6,180 and 2,591 (para. 5; sum computed)

The memoranda are DepEd’s official results. Cite them for any count.

What this means for NASH takers

  1. Your official result is your certificate. Batch 1 takers get an Individual Certificate of Rating (ICR), and Batch 2 takers the same certificate, abbreviated ICOR, both through the DepEd LMS on the account used for the assessment (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 8; DM 044, s. 2026, para. 7). Batch 1 takers update their user role, Schools Division Office and examinee number; Batch 2 takers can update only the position field and use the memorandum’s online form for other corrections.
  2. Use the IDR to plan your development. The Batch 1 memorandum tells takers at the three-domain and With Developmental Areas levels “to refer to their IDR for guidance on the required developmental interventions” (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 9). Bring it to your first meeting with your coach in the TDP or PDI; From NASH Results to a PPSSH Development Plan shows how to turn it into goals.
  3. If you took Batch 2, look for your development report. DM 069, s. 2025 provides that the results memorandum is followed by the release of the Certificates of Rating and “the Individual Development Report (IDR) through the DepEd Official Email address of the takers” (para. 12). DM 044, s. 2026 names only the ICOR. Check your official DepEd email; if no IDR has arrived, write to BHROD-HRDD at bhrod.hrdd@deped.gov.ph (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 9).
  4. Read your score as the memoranda describe it. A domain score below 65 can keep you out of the top levels even with a high overall score, and a score is a standing among the takers of your batch. Plan from your domain scores; see NASH Results 2025 Explained.
  5. Treat any practice score as practice. NASH Reviewer has no access to DUNONG, to the assessment items or to official scores, and DepEd is not affiliated with any paid review provider or anyone claiming access to the test content (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 14). Practice tests, including the practice questions on this blog, show where to study, not your official level.
  6. Keep your records private. Your certificate and IDR hold your scores. The memoranda leave the release of each region’s master list to the regional office, “subject to applicable data privacy laws, rules, and regulations” (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 8).

What this means for school heads

A school head who mentors aspiring school heads, or serves as an SDO-assigned coach in the TDP and PDI, can work from the same evidence. Ask the teacher to share the IDR’s areas for improvement, agree on one workplace task for each weak domain, and check the result together. That is Domain 4 work in the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH): strand 4.5 on professional development of school personnel and strand 4.6 on leadership development in individuals and teams (Domain 4 guide). Reading an IDR this way is what indicator 4.6.1 asks of aspiring school heads: “Identify strengths, capabilities and potentials of individuals and teams in performing leadership roles and responsibilities.”

Frequently asked questions

What is DUNONG in DepEd?

According to ECAIR, which built it, DUNONG, the Dashboard for Understanding NASH Outcomes and Grade-Generation System, is the analytics platform that scores the NASH. ECAIR says it scores responses, sorts results by competency level, runs a dashboard and helps DepEd generate Individual Development Reports (ECAIR, May 31, 2026). ECAIR built it with BHROD and NEAP.

Who scores the NASH?

BHROD’s Human Resource Development Division administers the NASH (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 3). ECAIR says the scoring runs on DUNONG, which it maintains. The method for FY 2025, a 0-to-3 item score standardized to a scale of 1 to 100, is described in the results memoranda (DM 097, s. 2025 and DM 044, s. 2026, para. 4).

Can I see my results in DUNONG?

DepEd’s results memoranda do not mention DUNONG. Your results reach you through your Individual Certificate of Rating in the DepEd LMS and the IDR sent to your official DepEd email (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 12; DM 097, s. 2025, paras. 8–9; DM 044, s. 2026, para. 7). ECAIR says the platform helps DepEd “interpret NASH outcomes”.

Why do ECAIR’s NASH numbers differ from DepEd’s?

ECAIR’s “registered” counts (11,308 and 23,848) equal the numbers who completed the assessment; DepEd’s memoranda count 11,385 takers in Batch 1 and 23,994 registered in Batch 2. ECAIR gives 4,410 prospective candidates for Batch 1, where DM 097, s. 2025 gives 2,899 and 1,509, or 4,408. Use the memoranda.

Does DUNONG change how the NASH is passed?

No. The levels and the cut of 65 for FY 2025 are in DepEd’s results memoranda, and DUNONG applies them. For what each level requires next, see SIKAP Study on Aspiring Principals and the qualification standards FAQ.

Sources

ECAIR

  • Education Center for AI Research, “DUNONG”, project page, May 31, 2026, accessed November 6, 2026.
  • Tan, A. D. Q., and Laylo, R. G. M. Strengthening and Improving the Knowledge Advancement of Aspiring Principal (SIKAP) in the Philippines. SEAMEO INNOTECH and Education Center for AI Research, copyright 2025. PDF on the ECAIR website, pp. iii, 22, 36.

DepEd issuances

Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: ECAIR’s DUNONG project page; the SIKAP policy brief; DepEd Memoranda No. 069 and 097, s. 2025 and No. 044, s. 2026; DM-OULS-2026-397; DepEd Orders No. 013, s. 2025 and No. 024, s. 2020. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with DepEd or ECAIR.