The NASH is the National Assessment for School Heads, the assessment DepEd gives teachers who want to become school principals. It is the National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) under a new name: DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025 says the NQESH “has been refocused and renamed the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH)” (para. 1). DepEd describes the NASH as “a developmental assessment tool to evaluate readiness and identify areas for improvement among aspiring school leaders” (para. 2).

What the test covers did not change in 2025. Since the FY 2021 round, the NQESH and then the NASH have asked “conceptual and situational critical thinking questions” aligned with the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH), using the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy. What changed is how answers are scored, how results are reported, what a taker below the top level does next, and who may take the test.

An NQESH pass still counts. Passers of the NQESH and of the older Principal’s Test remain eligible for a first appointment as School Principal I, and DM 069 anchors the NASH on that rule (DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2024, Item 27; DM 069, s. 2025, para. 4.c).

Key findings

  • Same test, new name. The NQESH “has been refocused and renamed” the NASH (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 1). The FY 2025 NASH, given in two batches on September 14, 2025 and May 17, 2026, is the first under the new name (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 3; DM 044, s. 2026, para. 3).
  • Same standards since 2021. The FY 2021 NQESH, the FY 2023 NQESH and the NASH all test the PPSSH with the SOLO taxonomy (DepEd Memorandum No. 100, s. 2022, para. 2; DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2024, para. 4; DM 069, s. 2025, para. 3).
  • Scoring changed each round. FY 2021 used the Rasch model and an “order of merit”; FY 2023 scored each answer right or wrong; the NASH scores each answer 0 to 3 under an “Ordinal Partial Credit Model” (DM 100, s. 2022, para. 3; DM 059, s. 2024, para. 5; DepEd Memorandum No. 097, s. 2025, para. 4).
  • No pass or fail since 2021. FY 2021 reported Categories A to C, FY 2023 Qualifications A to C, and the NASH three competency levels (DM 100, s. 2022, paras. 3–4; DM 059, s. 2024, para. 6; DM 097, s. 2025, para. 5).
  • Development instead of a retake. NQESH takers below the top group were told they could retake the test, some only after coaching or a development program. NASH takers below the top level take a development program, a Targeted Development Program or Professional Development Interventions, and no memorandum requires a retake; Batch 1 head teachers and assistant principals rated With Developmental Areas could opt to retake in Batch 2 (DM 100, s. 2022, para. 4; DM 059, s. 2024, para. 6; DM 097, s. 2025, paras. 5–7; DepEd Memorandum No. 044, s. 2026, para. 5).
  • New qualification standards for takers. NQESH applicants qualified under the 2007 standards for head teachers and principals; NASH applicants, apart from groups the memoranda exempt, must meet the 2025 School Principal I standards (DepEd Memorandum No. 033, s. 2022, para. 3; DM 069, s. 2025, para. 5).
  • An NQESH result keeps its value. NQESH and Principal’s Test passers stay eligible for a first appointment (DO 021, s. 2024, Item 27), and the applicant’s NQESH, Principal’s Test or similar DepEd examination score is the basis of the 10-point written examination for School Principal I, both in hiring (DO 021, s. 2024, Item 28) and in reclassification (DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2025, Encl. No. 3, Sec. 38).

What the NASH is

Question Answer Source
What does NASH stand for? National Assessment for School Heads DM 069, s. 2025, para. 1
What is it for? “a developmental assessment tool to evaluate readiness and identify areas for improvement among aspiring school leaders” DM 069, s. 2025, para. 2
What does it cover? “conceptual and situational critical thinking questions aligned with the standards set by the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH)”, with the SOLO taxonomy as “an underpinning framework” DM 069, s. 2025, para. 3
Who runs it? DepEd’s Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development, through its Human Resource Development Division (BHROD-HRDD) DM 097, s. 2025, para. 3
How is it taken? Online through the DepEd Learning Management System (LMS), at assessment sites, in “a secure, locked-down testing environment” DM 097, s. 2025, para. 3; DM 044, s. 2026, para. 3
What does a taker receive? An Individual Certificate of Rating through the DepEd LMS and an Individual Development Report by DepEd email DM 097, s. 2025, paras. 8–9
Why does it matter? First appointments to School Principal positions “shall require candidates to pass the DepEd-administered school head assessment” DO 021, s. 2024, Item 27

The PPSSH itself is DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020. Is the NASH Mandatory for School Principal I Appointment? explains the appointment rule and who is exempt.

NASH vs NQESH at a glance

The three rounds since the test moved to the PPSSH show what changed and what stayed.

FY 2021 NQESH FY 2023 NQESH FY 2025 NASH
Held July 31, 2022, “through a remote online modality” May 26 and June 2, 2024, online at 75 sites September 14, 2025 (42 sites) and May 17, 2026 (65 sites), through the DepEd LMS
Takers 5,966 of 6,000 examinees took it 21,803 of 22,000 completed it 11,308 and 23,848 completed it
Basis PPSSH and SOLO PPSSH and SOLO PPSSH and SOLO
How each answer is scored Rasch model; ability and difficulty “on the same scale” “Binary Model”: each answer “either correct or incorrect” “Ordinal Partial Credit Model”: each answer 0 to 3
How the score is reported An “order of merit” from 0 to 100 percent Indicator, domain and overall scores on a scale of 1 to 100 Indicator, domain and overall scores on a scale of 1 to 100
Result groups Categories A, B and C Qualifications A, B and C Meeting PPSSH standards in four domains, in three domains, or With Developmental Areas
Top group Category A, 2,203 (36.93%): “ELIGIBLE to the next stage for Principal 1 positions”; later, “Only takers who fall under Category A shall be eligible for appointment to entry-level school principal positions” Qualification A, 5,753 (26.39%): “Eligible for appointment to entry-level school principal position” Four domains, 2,899 (25.6%) and 6,180 (25.91%): “Prospective candidates”
Others Category B: may take the next NQESH after coaching and mentoring, later replaced by an evaluation and certification; Category C: a School Heads Development Program before a retake, later barred from the FY 2023 NQESH Qualifications B and C: “May retake the next NQESH” Three domains: also prospective candidates, with a NEAP Targeted Development Program within three months of appointment; With Developmental Areas: Professional Development Interventions and a Work Application Plan before candidacy
Who could apply Aspiring school heads “regardless of their current positions” who met the 2007 standards The same Batch 1: head teachers, assistant principals and teachers-in-charge meeting the 2025 School Principal I standards; Batch 2: anyone meeting those standards, plus exempt groups
Fee PHP 350 PHP 600 None (Batch 1); PHP 720 (Batch 2)

Sources: DM 100, s. 2022, paras. 1–4; DepEd Memorandum No. 025, s. 2023, para. 3.a; DM 033, s. 2022, para. 3 and its online application guide; DM 059, s. 2024, paras. 1, 4–6; DepEd Memorandum No. 013, s. 2024, paras. 2, 5 and 7 and its application process; DM 069, s. 2025, paras. 3, 5, 6 and 7; DM 097, s. 2025, paras. 3–5; DM 044, s. 2026, paras. 3–5; DepEd’s July 29, 2025 program support fund memorandum; DM-OUHROD-2025-3318, November 17, 2025. FY 2021 shares are of the 5,966 who took the test, as DM 100 reports them.

The top-group shares cannot be read as a trend in how hard the test is. The FY 2023 and NASH scores are “standardized using z-statistics” and converted to 1 to 100, and the FY 2021 order of merit came from a different model (DM 059, s. 2024, para. 5; DM 097, s. 2025, para. 4). As of November 8, 2026, no memorandum links the scales of different rounds or reports how difficult one round was compared with another. NASH Results 2025 Explained sets out what a score of 65 does and does not mean, and DUNONG: The Platform That Scores the NASH, Explained covers the system that computes the scores.

What stayed the same

  • The standards. All three rounds test the PPSSH, adopted in 2020 by DO 024, s. 2020, through conceptual and situational questions built on the SOLO taxonomy (DM 100, s. 2022, para. 2; DM 059, s. 2024, para. 4; DM 069, s. 2025, para. 3). From NCBS-SH to PPSSH: DepEd Standards for School Heads traces how the test moved from the older standards to the PPSSH.
  • The stated purpose. DepEd calls both “the primary mechanism” for assessing aspiring school leaders, with nearly the same four objectives: a larger pool of candidates for vacancies, a chance for head teachers affected by career progression, baseline data for NEAP’s programs, and the development needs of future school heads (DM 059, s. 2024, para. 3; DM 097, s. 2025, para. 2). The NASH’s list adds assistant school principals beside head teachers.
  • The cut of 65. Both the FY 2023 NQESH and the NASH sort takers by whether the overall score and the domain scores reach 65 (DM 059, s. 2024, para. 6; DM 097, s. 2025, para. 5).
  • No pass or fail. DM 100 said the FY 2021 method “does not employ constructs such as pass or fail grades as these constructs have become less appropriate for the selection of prospective school heads” (para. 3). Neither later round reintroduced them.
  • Its role in appointments. Passing a DepEd school head assessment is still a condition for a first appointment as School Principal I (DO 021, s. 2024, Item 27).

What changed

The name and the framing. DepEd stopped calling it a qualifying examination. DM 069 presents the NASH as “a developmental assessment tool”, meant “to support their professional growth and prepare them for school leadership roles within the career progression framework” (para. 2).

The scoring. The FY 2021 NQESH ranked takers by ability on a single scale. The FY 2023 NQESH marked each answer right or wrong. The NASH gives partial credit: each answer is scored “on a 0–3 scale, where 0 = incorrect and 3 = most correct”, so that “partial understanding and higher-quality answers are both recognized” (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 4).

What happens below the top level. Under the NQESH, the lower groups were told they could retake the test. FY 2021 Category B takers were to retake after coaching and mentoring, but DepEd replaced that retake with an evaluation and certification process; Category C takers were to finish a School Heads Development Program first (DM 100, s. 2022, para. 4), and DepEd then kept them out of the FY 2023 NQESH and “encouraged” professional development (DM 013, s. 2024, para. 7). FY 2023 Qualifications B and C could retake (DM 059, s. 2024, para. 6). FY 2021 Category C and FY 2023 Qualification B and C takers next sat NASH Batch 2 (DM-OUHROD-2025-3318). Under the NASH, a three-domain taker is a prospective candidate who takes a Targeted Development Program after appointment, and a taker With Developmental Areas becomes one after the Professional Development Interventions and a Work Application Plan certified by the Schools Division Superintendent (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 5). NASH TDP and PDI: Phases, Coaches and Certificates explains both programs.

Who may take it. NQESH applicants qualified “regardless of their current positions” under DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2007, the 2007 standards for head teachers and principals (DM 033, s. 2022, para. 3; DM 013, s. 2024, para. 5). NASH applicants must meet the School Principal I standards of DepEd Order No. 019, s. 2025, including a master’s degree, unless a memorandum exempts their group, as Batch 2 did for head teachers, assistant principals, FY 2021 Category C takers and FY 2023 Qualification B and C takers (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 5; DM-OUHROD-2025-3318). NASH Qualification Standards for School Principal I: FAQ has the details.

The speed of results. The FY 2021 NQESH results came 95 days after the test and the FY 2023 results 138 to 145 days after its two sittings; the two NASH batches’ came in 37 and 48 days (computed from DM 100, s. 2022; DM 059, s. 2024; DM 097, s. 2025; DM 044, s. 2026). When Is the Next NASH? has the full schedule history.

Is an NQESH pass still valid?

Yes. DO 021, s. 2024 says that “only passers/eligible of the NQESH, Principal’s Test, or other school head assessment(s) that may so be required in the future, shall be eligible for first appointment to School Principal positions” (Item 27). The NASH is such a later assessment, and DO 034, s. 2025 names “the Principal’s Test, National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH), and National Assessment for School Heads (NASH)” together when it exempts sitting principals from them on applying for reclassification or promotion to higher School Principal positions (DepEd Order No. 034, s. 2025, para. 16).

Which NQESH result counts depends on the round:

Round Eligible result Source
Principal’s Test and NQESH up to FY 2020 Passers DO 021, s. 2024, Item 27; DM 025, s. 2023, para. 4
FY 2021 NQESH Category A; Category B qualifiers rated “Passed” in the 2024 evaluation and certification. Category B qualifiers rated “Closely approximating” or “Approximating” may apply “subject to evaluative and eligibility assessment and professional shadowing and immersion”, and those rated “Needing Intervention” after further Professional Development Interventions with a Work Application Plan; DepEd’s FY 2025 Batch 2 FAQs treat all three as NQESH passers once the intervention is complete and the Schools Division Superintendent has certified it (Q12) DM 025, s. 2023, para. 3.a; DM 059, s. 2024, para. 8; FY 2025 NASH application FAQs, Q12
FY 2023 NQESH Qualification A DM 059, s. 2024, para. 6
FY 2025 NASH Meeting PPSSH standards in four or three domains; With Developmental Areas after the PDI and WAP DM 044, s. 2026, para. 5

An NQESH result also scores the written examination in the comparative assessment for School Principal I. For hiring into a vacant item, “the applicant’s score in the Principal’s Test/National Qualifying Examination for School Heads (NQESH) or a similar standardized examination nationally administered by DepEd shall be the basis for scoring the component on Written Examination (10 points)” (DO 021, s. 2024, Item 28, restating DO 007, s. 2023, Encl. No. 3, Sec. 8.a). DO 024 sets the same rule for reclassification (Encl. No. 3, Sec. 38); it does not govern hiring into vacant School Principal positions (Encl. No. 1, Sec. 12). DO 021 applies the percentage method to FY 2021 and later NQESH results, which report a percentage score, and the older method to “the previous years’ Principals’ Test/NQESH, which use the raw scores in the COR” (Item 28).

Before 2021: the Principal’s Test

The school head test is older than either name. DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2007 required applicants to Principal I to “pass a qualifying test”, developed by NEAP with the National Education Testing and Research Center and given by the regional offices once a year (Part II, items 1 to 1.3). In 2009, NEAP ran the “National Qualifying Examination for Principals” (DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2009, para. 3). DepEd’s 2022 memorandum on the FY 2021 round still called the NQESH “also known as Principals’ Test” (DM 033, s. 2022, para. 1).

Those earlier tests gave a numerical score. DO 007, s. 2023 illustrates the written examination with a “Principal’s Test numerical score” of 165 out of 200 (DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, Encl. No. 3, Sec. 8.a).

What this means for school heads

  1. Use the right name, and explain the change. Teachers still say “NQESH”. The test they will take is the NASH, on the same PPSSH basis.
  2. Check whether a teacher already holds an eligible result. A Principal’s Test or NQESH pass up to FY 2020, FY 2021 Category A, a FY 2021 Category B rating of “Passed”, or FY 2023 Qualification A needs no NASH; neither, by DepEd’s FAQs, does a lower FY 2021 Category B rating with the Schools Division Superintendent’s certification of the completed intervention. Ask for the Certificate of Rating or the DepEd memorandum listing the name, which DO 021 accepts for applications (Item 9), and for that certification where it applies.
  3. Coach toward the PPSSH, not toward an old test format. Partial credit rewards the most complete answer among plausible ones. Practice with situational questions on the PPSSH indicators, as in the NASH study guide.
  4. Treat the NASH result as a development plan. The Individual Development Report sums up each taker’s strengths, areas for improvement and recommended interventions (DM 097, s. 2025, para. 9). Help teachers rated With Developmental Areas carry out their Work Application Plan in the school.

Helping teachers plan their development serves indicator 4.4.2 of the PPSSH, “Implement the performance management system with a team to support the career advancement of school personnel, and to improve office performance.” See PPSSH Domain 4: Developing Self and Others.

Frequently asked questions

What does NASH mean in DepEd?

NASH stands for National Assessment for School Heads. DepEd’s memorandum calls it “a developmental assessment tool to evaluate readiness and identify areas for improvement among aspiring school leaders” (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 2). A first appointment as School Principal I requires an eligible result in a DepEd school head assessment: the NASH now, or an earlier eligible NQESH or Principal’s Test result (DO 021, s. 2024, Item 27).

Is the NASH the same as the NQESH?

It is the same assessment under a new name: the NQESH “has been refocused and renamed” the NASH (DM 069, s. 2025, para. 1). The standards are the same; the scoring, the result levels and the follow-up for lower levels changed.

Do I need to take the NASH if I passed the NQESH?

No. NQESH and Principal’s Test passers remain eligible for a first appointment (DO 021, s. 2024, Item 27). For FY 2021 that means Category A or a Category B rating of “Passed”, and for FY 2023 Qualification A (DM 025, s. 2023, para. 3.a; DM 059, s. 2024, paras. 6 and 8). DepEd’s FY 2025 Batch 2 FAQs add FY 2021 Category B qualifiers with lower ratings once their intervention is complete and certified by the Schools Division Superintendent (Q12).

Is the NASH harder than the NQESH?

The memoranda do not allow that comparison. As of November 8, 2026, no memorandum links the scales of different rounds or reports how difficult one round was compared with another. About one taker in four reached the top group in FY 2023 and in both NASH batches (DM 059, s. 2024, para. 6; DM 097, s. 2025, para. 5; DM 044, s. 2026, para. 5).

Is there a passing score in the NASH?

No single passing score. Takers are sorted into three levels by whether their overall score and their domain scores reach 65; the two “Meeting PPSSH standards” levels are prospective candidates (DM 044, s. 2026, para. 5).

Sources

DepEd memoranda

  • DepEd Memorandum No. 069, s. 2025, Administration of the National Assessment for School Heads for Fiscal Year 2025, August 11, 2025: paras. 1–7
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 097, s. 2025, Results of the National Assessment for School Heads for Fiscal Year 2025 (Batch 1), October 21, 2025: paras. 2–9
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 044, s. 2026, Results of the National Assessment for School Heads for Fiscal Year 2025 (Batch 2), July 4, 2026: paras. 3–5
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2024, Results of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Qualifying Examination for School Heads and Fiscal Year 2021 NQESH Category B Evaluation and Certification, October 18, 2024: paras. 1, 3–6 and 8
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 013, s. 2024, Administration of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Qualifying Examination for School Heads, February 26, 2024: paras. 2, 5 and 7, and its application process (fee)
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 025, s. 2023, Amendment to DepEd Memorandum No. 100, s. 2022 and Clarification on the Use of NQESH or Principal’s Test Results in Relation to DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, April 25, 2023: paras. 3.a and 4
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 100, s. 2022, Results of the Fiscal Year 2021 National Qualifying Examination for School Heads, November 3, 2022: paras. 1–4
  • DepEd Memorandum No. 033, s. 2022, Conduct of the 2021 National Qualifying Examination for School Heads, April 18, 2022: paras. 1 and 3, and its online application guide (fee)
  • DM-OUHROD-2025-3318, Updates and Instructions on the Administration of the FY 2025 National Assessment for School Heads (NASH) - Batch 2, November 17, 2025
  • Frequently Asked Questions (NASH Application), FY 2025 NASH Batch 2: Q12
  • DepEd Office of the Undersecretary for Human Resource and Organizational Development, Program Support Fund Utilization Guidelines for the Administration of FY 2025 National Assessment for School Heads (NASH), July 29, 2025

DepEd orders

  • DepEd Order No. 021, s. 2024, Amendments to DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, December 23, 2024: Items 9, 27 and 28
  • DepEd Order No. 034, s. 2025, Amendments and Clarifications to DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2025, October 14, 2025: para. 16
  • DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2025, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Expanded Career Progression System for Teachers and School Heads in the Department of Education, August 28, 2025: Encl. No. 1, Sec. 12; Encl. No. 3, Sec. 38
  • DepEd Order No. 019, s. 2025, Amended Qualification Standards for Teacher I-III, Master Teacher I-IV, and School Principal I-IV Positions, and the Qualification Standards for Newly Created Teacher IV-VII and Master Teacher V Positions, June 24, 2025
  • DepEd Order No. 007, s. 2023, Guidelines on Recruitment, Selection, and Appointment in the Department of Education, March 22, 2023: Encl. No. 3, Sec. 8.a
  • DepEd Order No. 024, s. 2020, National Adoption and Implementation of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads, September 7, 2020
  • DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2009, Strict Compliance with Passing the Qualifying Examination for Principalship for Appointment to Principal I Position, April 20, 2009: para. 3
  • DepEd Order No. 39, s. 2007, Modified Qualification Standards for the Positions of Head Teachers and Principals, June 15, 2007
  • DepEd Order No. 42, s. 2007, The Revised Guidelines on Selection, Promotion and Designation of School Heads, July 4, 2007: Part II, items 1 to 1.3

Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: DepEd Memoranda No. 033 and 100, s. 2022, No. 025, s. 2023, No. 013 and 059, s. 2024, No. 069 and 097, s. 2025, and No. 044, s. 2026; DepEd Orders No. 021, s. 2024 and No. 019, 024 and 034, s. 2025. NASH Reviewer is not affiliated with DepEd.