DepEd starts phaseout of grade transmutation policy
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education has ordered the phased removal of grade transmutation, the conversion system that adjusts students' raw scores into the final grades written on their report cards, with the first changes taking effect this school year.
Transmutation has been in place since 2015, when DepEd transitioned to the K to 12 curriculum. Under it, a student's raw score is converted using a fixed table before becoming a report-card grade, so that a passing raw score of 60 corresponds to 75, the lowest mark a report card can carry.
DepEd announced the change in a press release on Monday, June 22, where it said the removal of the transmutation policy will give teachers and parents a clearer basis for deciding which students need additional support.
"A child's advancement to the next grade level must be based on genuine learning," Education Secretary Sonny Angara said in Filipino, as quoted in the DepEd release. "By eliminating transmutation, we are strengthening accountability throughout the system — from curriculum implementation and classroom instruction to assessment and academic support for learners."
The timeline for the removal of the grade transmutation policy is contained in DepEd Order No. 15, s. 2026, issued June 4, and is set to take effect in stages. For school year 2026–2027, transmutation is still in place but on an adjusted table, with a raw 70 now corresponding to a passing 75.
From school year 2027–2028, it is removed for grades 4 to 12, where a raw 75 will stand as a final 75 without adjustment.
Kindergarten to Grade 3 will shift to a descriptive, non-numerical system over the same period.
Change in assessments
The DepEd order also spells out how learning should be measured during the term.
Formative assessment — the quizzes and checks built into daily lessons — will no longer count toward a student's grade and is instead meant to identify gaps and guide teaching.
Grades will be drawn from summative work, which the DepEd order also seeks to limit, setting recommended caps on written works, performance tasks and exams per subject each term to ease what it describes as assessment overload.
AI use
For the first time, the guidelines set rules on artificial intelligence in assessment.
AI use is sorted into prohibited, limited and guided categories. For instance, term exams and other supervised tests are closed to AI unless approved for accessibility.
Teachers are also barred from entering personal learner data or official DepEd documents into AI platforms.
Any permitted use of AI must be disclosed and documented, according to the DepEd order.
The department said in its press release that the policy is not intended to make grades harder to earn or to raise failure rates, but to give a more accurate reading of progress so that struggling learners can be helped sooner.
"Learner promotion remains guided by existing promotion and retention policies. The removal of grade transmutation should not be treated as an automatic trigger for higher retention, but as a tool to help schools, teachers, and parents identify learning gaps earlier and respond with appropriate support," the DepEd press release read.
Pushback vs transmutation
The order was issued months after the final report of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2) was released in January. In it, the commission recommended phasing out transmutation as part of a broader push to end the "de facto mass promotion" of students.
According to the commission, transmutation was originally conceived of to standardize grading across schools. But its implementation has allowed several schools to also conceal poor performance.
By converting very low raw scores into passing or near-passing marks, EDCOM 2 said, the table allowed learners performing well below proficiency to appear to meet the minimum requirements.
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