Education Secretary Sonny Angara announced on Tuesday, February 3, that the Department of Education (DepEd) will review policies that result in students being promoted to a higher grade level despite their poor performance.
According to Angara, one of the policies being reviewed is the grade transmutation matrix where raw scores of 60 are converted to a passing grade of 75. The review aims to ensure that students who are not eligible are not automatically passed.
This move follows the final report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) that recommended gradually phasing out the de facto policy of automatic passing of students, even if they do not meet academic standards. The data showed that only about 30.5% of Grade 3 learners were reading at the correct grade level, dropping to 19.6% in Grade 6, and 0.4% in Grade 12.
Angara said that although there is no formal mass promotion policy, there are unintentional policies that cause this. Many teachers who teach students who fail are driven by the human nature of “the child will not fail”, so there is pressure to pass the student even if he is not ready.
However, Angara assured that students who are falling behind will not be left behind. Through the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Act, they will receive free tutoring and special attention to help them catch up. He also emphasized that a massive curriculum overhaul will not be implemented because it would be costly and disruptive to the education system.