THE K TO 12 GRADING SYSTEM

PETER PHILIP M. PEREZ

MA in Education Major in Administration and Supervision
Divine Word College of San Jose


I. INTRODUCTION:
The K to 12 education curriculum is the newest curricular design in the country; being
new, it offers an entirely new set of schema as to the conduct of the of teaching and learning as
well as the ways of rating the students in their day to day endeavor of learning.
The new curricular design has a set of mandate stipulated in DepEd Order No. 31, s.
2012 and DepEd Order No. 73, s. 2012 which as issued on April 17, 2012 and September 5, 2012
respectively. Here, the desired outcomes of Grades 1 to 10 Program:
The desired outcomes of grades 1-10 are defined in terms of expectancies as articulated
in the learning standards. In general terms, students are expected at the end of grade 10
to demonstrate communicative competence. Think intelligently, critically and creatively
in life situations; make informed values based decisions; perform their civic duties; use
resources sustainably; and participate actively in artistic and cultural activities and in the
promotion of wellness and lifelong learning fitness.
These general expectancies are expressed in specific terms in form of content
and performance standards (DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2012. Page 1)
And, DepEd Order No.73, s. 2012 gives the criterion for gauging the Levels of
Assessment which are as follows:
The attainment of learning outcomes as defined in the standards shall be tha basis for
the quality assurance of learning using formative assessments. They shall also be the
focus of the summative assessments and shall be the basis for grading at the end of
instruction.
The learning outcomes are defined by level: knowledge; process or skill;
understanding; and products and performances. These levels shall be the outcomes
reflected in the class record and shall be given corresponding percentage weights as
follows:
Levels of Assessments Percentage Weight
Knowledge 15%
Process or Skills 25%
Understanding (s) 30%
Product/Performances 30%
Total 100%

The levels of assessments are defined as follows:
1. Knowledge the subtantive content of the curriculum, the facts and information
that the student acquires
2. Process skills or cognitive operations that the student performs on facts and
information for the purpose of constructing meaning and understandings.
3. Understandings enduring big ideas, principles and generalizations inherent to the
discipline, which may be assessed using the facets of understanding or other
indicators of understanding which may be specific to the discipline.
4. Product/Performances real life application of understanding as evidenced by the
students performance of authentic task.
Thus, these are leading to the problems which sprout and perceived by most teachers
nowadays.

II. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

Frankly speaking, the former Basic Education Curriculum (BEC) is characterized by
teacher dominance in all facets thereof; this, has become systemic for one reason or another.
Sudden twist such as this may cause problems in overall implementation; especially to the area
in stress- the grading system.

Speaking of the former BEC as stipulated in the DECS Service Manual 2000, the grading
system, generally speaking follows this pattern:

The weight of the final examination for each of the four (4) quarterly grading periods
shall be forty (40) percent. The remaining sixty percent will be used for other measures
of achievement, such as class quizzes, recitation, homework, and the like, provided that
they are all related to determining the academic performance of the student.

Non-academic elements such as behavior and absences should no longer be
imputed for subject grading purposes. Previously, the grade for the periodic
examination had been set at only twenty five (25) percent of the rating for quarterly
grading period.

Here, the four quarterly periodical tests mentioned has a counterpart in K to 12 which is the
knowledge level of assessment; note that, BEC will be interpreted as predominantly knowledge
assessment based if we are to compared it to K to 12 curriculums grading scheme for the latter
aside from the mentioned periodical test uses other measures like quizzes, recitation and
homework which mostly fall on the said category. Thus, teachers will inevitably have problems
as regard to this especially in the transition period. Thus, this becomes now an issue of
adjustment and/or adaptation not only on teachers but also on the part of students.
A coping mechanism is also needed to facilitate the highest level of assessment or the product
/performancesas can be gauged fromDepEd Order No.73, s. 2012 which goes in toto:

The highest level of assessment focuses on the product or perfcormances which
students are expected to produce through authentic performances which students are
expected to produce through authentic performance task. The assessment level should
answer the question: What product(s) do we want students to produce as evidence of
their learning or understanding? Or, How do we want them to provide evidence that
they can use or transfer their learning to real life situations?

New to the system, as it is, can be mind bugling taking into consideration the preceeding
pharagraph which states that:

Product or performances should be refflective of what we want students to be able to
do with their learning. They are evidence of what we want students to tell us or
demonstrate to us about the use in real life that can make of what they have learned in
our subjects. Being able to make diorama, for example, is not a product or performance
that we would expect our students to tell us they have learned in Araling Panlipunan.

Thus, there seems to be a very high standard which will affect considerably, the grades of the
learners especially in the elentary level. In addition, the preceeding phagraph futher worsens
the scenario by stating that:

The teacher shoudnt prescribe how students will express or provide evidence of their
learning or understanding. Students should be given the freedom to express their
learning in appropriate ways. For example, doing advocacy for a legitimate cause is a
product or performance that we would expect our students in Araling Panlipunan to be
able to do as a demonstration of their understanding of poverty among agricultural
settlers. But the teacher doesnt have to prescribe how doing advocacy should be
expressed or demonstrated.

Here, non-intervention, non-guidance among others which are not previously done in BEC will
be the source of mutual irritation of all the staffs and students of the school, at least in the
transition phase of the program.

III. OBJECTIVES:
To ensure fruitful endeavor of teaching and learning as manifested in the grades of
students in the present K to 12 curriculum design.

IV. ALTERNATIVE COURSES OF ACTION/DISCUSSION:

1. Foster local initiatives to make modifications of the system as a transition from the
previous BEC to K to 12.
2. Teachers must ensure that maximum learning will come about across the levels of
learning before proceeding to the next.

V. RECOMMENDATION:
Local initiatives to ensure facilitation of the said, is necessary for the said curriculum per
se; here, adjustment must not be abrupt, which will do more harm to the system than good.
Thus, legal modifications must be sought through the approval of authorities at least in the pilot
stage; note that, this may not be easy to accomplish, thus, needs other measures such as
assurance of maximum facilitation of instruction across the periods and ladders of the
educational scheme.
VI. REFERENCES:

DepEd Order No. 31, s. 2012. Policy Guidelines of Grades 1-10 of the K to 12 Basic Education
Curriculum (BEC) Effective School Year 2012-2013.

DepEd Order No.73, s. 2012. Guidelines on the Assessment and Ratings of Learning Outcomes
under the K to 12 Basic Education Curricumum.

DECS Service Manual 2000