Philippine Grading Systems Guide: DepEd K-12 Guidelines, College GWA, and Assessment Standards

Grading systems in the Philippines balance national basic education mandates, institutional higher education autonomy, and classroom-level assessment flexibility. Understanding the official legal bases, mathematical weighting formulas, transmutation rules, and academic honors criteria is critical for students, parents, school registrars, and educators—including full-time teachers, part-time instructors, substitutes, and sideline tutors.

This guide provides an authoritative, source-backed breakdown of Philippine grading regulations, establishing a clear distinction between officially documented government policies, institutional university frameworks, custom classroom rules, and unverified assumptions.

1. Regulatory Framework & Hierarchy of Grading Authorities

In the Philippines, academic grading policies are established through distinct statutory bodies:

2. DepEd Basic Education: DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026

Issued on June 4, 2026, 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) officially supersedes the long-standing DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015 and the awards policy under DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016.

DO 015, s. 2026 aligns assessment practices with the phased implementation of the MATATAG K to 10 Curriculum, the Strengthened Senior High School (SSHS) Curriculum, and the Three-Term School Calendar, taking effect starting School Year 2026–2027.

A. Three-Term School Calendar Structure

Basic education public schools nationwide operate on three terms per school year (Term 1, Term 2, and Term 3), replacing the traditional four-quarter grading calendar.

B. Summative Assessment Components (Grades 4–12)

Summative assessments are structured into three primary components:

1. Written or Oral Works (WWs): 3 to 5 assessments per term to evaluate conceptual understanding.
2. Product or Performance Tasks (PTs): 2 to 3 assessments per term to evaluate practical application. Integrated, cross-curricular performance tasks are explicitly encouraged.
3. Examinations (EXs): Structured as:
   • Summative Test 1 (ST 1): Administered around Day 16 (covers first 15 instructional days) — weighs 30% of the Examination component.
   • Summative Test 2 (ST 2): Administered around Day 32 — weighs 30% of the Examination component.
   • Term Examination (TE): Culminating comprehensive exam — weighs 40% of the Examination component.

C. Component Weights by Learning Area

Under DO 015, s. 2026, percentage weights for Grades 4 to 12 are distributed as follows:

1. Key Stages 2 & 3 (Grades 4 to 10)

• Core Academic Subjects (English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science, Araling Panlipunan, GMRC / Values Education):
  • Written or Oral Works (WW): 20%
  • Product or Performance Tasks (PT): 50%
  • Examinations (EX): 30%
• Technical & Practical Subjects (EPP / TLE and MAPEH):
  • Written or Oral Works (WW): 20%
  • Product or Performance Tasks (PT): 60%
  • Examinations (EX): 20%

2. Key Stage 4 (Senior High School / Grades 11–12)

• SHS Core Subjects & Academic Electives: WW 20% | PT 50% | EX 30%
• SHS Research Electives, Design & Innovation: WW 40% | PT 60% | EX 0%
• SHS Field Exposure, Arts Apprenticeship, Creative Production: WW 15% | PT 70% | EX 15%
• SHS Work Immersion: WW 20% | PT 80% | EX 0%

D. The Phased Elimination of Grade Transmutation

A central reform in DO 015, s. 2026 is addressing artificial grade inflation caused by historical transmutation formulas:

• Historical Legacy (DO 8, s. 2015): An initial raw percentage of 60.00% transmuted to a passing report card mark of 75.
• Transition Year (SY 2026–2027): Public schools utilize an Adjusted Transmutation Table. An initial raw score range of 70.00% to 71.17% is required to achieve the minimum passing grade of 75.
• Full Zero-Based Grading (SY 2027–2028 Onward): Grade transmutation is completely phased out for Grades 4 to 12. Computed initial percentage scores reflect directly as term grades on report cards, with 75.00 standing as the direct passing threshold.

E. Academic Excellence Awards (DO 015, s. 2026)

DO 015, s. 2026 streamlines honors recognition to eliminate hyper-competitive stress:

• Replaces tiered categories (With Honors [90–94], With High Honors [95–97], With Highest Honors [98–100]) with a single Academic Excellence Award.
• Qualification Criteria:
  1. Composite General Average of at least 90.00.
  2. No Final Grade below 80.00 in any learning area.
  3. Clean disciplinary record during the school year.
• Listing Rule: Awardees are recognized alphabetically without numerical ranking (e.g. no 1st, 2nd, 3rd ranking).

F. Key Stage 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3)

Learners in Kindergarten to Grade 3 do not receive numerical grades or percentage averages. Performance is evaluated through developmental milestone checklists and qualitative descriptive rubrics.

3. Higher Education Grading Systems (CHED & SUCs)

Unlike basic education, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) does not mandate a single, uniform grading scale across all universities and colleges. Under institutional academic freedom, higher education institutions (HEIs) establish their own grading policies subject to CHED minimum standards:

1. CHED Baseline: Under CMO No. 40, s. 2008, a passing mark of at least 75% or its institutional equivalent is required to earn academic course credit.
2. Scholastic Basis: Grades must be based purely on academic performance (examinations, quizzes, term papers, laboratory exercises, and recitations).

Predominant Collegiate Grading Scales:

1. The 1.00 to 5.00 Inverse Scale (Most Prevalent)

Utilized by state universities (such as the University of the Philippines system and Polytechnic University of the Philippines) and numerous private HEIs. In this system, lower numbers represent higher achievement:

2. The 4.0 Point Scale

Utilized by select private institutions (e.g., De La Salle University) and international programs, where 4.0 is the highest mark and 0.0 or 1.0 is failing.

3. General Weighted Average (GWA) Formula

The university General Weighted Average (GWA) is calculated as: $$\text{GWA} = \frac{\sum (\text{Course Grade} \times \text{Credit Units})}{\sum \text{Total Credit Units Attempted}}$$

Note on Non-Credit Courses: Mandatory courses without academic units (or specific non-academic PE and NSTP requirements in certain institutions) are excluded from scholastic honors ranking per institutional student manuals.

4. Source-Backed Classification Taxonomy

When using ToolBayan's Grade Calculator, grading rules are explicitly categorized into four distinct authority tiers:

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                   TOOLBAYAN GRADING AUTHORITY TIERS                    │
├────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Tier 1: OFFICIAL_GOVERNMENT│ Documented DepEd Orders (DO 015, s. 2026; │
│                            │ DO 8, s. 2015). Statutory mandates.       │
├────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Tier 2: INSTITUTIONAL      │ CHED-aligned university charters, SUC     │
│                            │ grading legends, institutional handbooks. │
├────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Tier 3: CUSTOM_USER        │ Teacher-defined syllabus weights, custom  │
│                            │ passing marks, and school-specific scales.│
├────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Tier 4: UNVERIFIED         │ Unofficial heuristic conversions or rules  │
│         ASSUMPTION         │ that must NEVER be claimed as official.   │
└────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────────────────┘

5. Summary Comparison: DO 015, s. 2026 vs. DO 8, s. 2015

6. Official References & Document Identifiers

1. Department of Education (DepEd): 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, issued June 4, 2026.
2. Department of Education (DepEd): DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015 — Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, issued April 1, 2015.
3. Department of Education (DepEd): DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016 — Policy Guidelines on Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, issued June 7, 2016.
4. Commission on Higher Education (CHED): CHED Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 40, series of 2008 — Manual of Regulations for Private Higher Education (MORPHE).
5. University Charters: University of the Philippines System Code, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Student Handbook, and University of Santo Tomas General Academic Regulations.