Notre Dame University Basic Education Sector uses the standards and competency-based grading system pursuant to the Part V of DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015. Furthermore, all the grades will be based on the weighted raw score of the learners’ summative assessments. The minimum grade needed to pass a specific learning area is 60, which is transmuted to 75 in the report card. The lowest mark that can appear on the report card is 60 for Quarterly Grades and Final Grades.
Pupils from Grades 1 to 6 are graded on Written Work (WW), Performance Task (PT), and Quarterly Assessment (QA) every quarter. These three are given specific percentage weights that may vary according to the nature of the learning area.
HOW IS PUPIL/STUDENT PROGRESS RECORDED AND COMPUTED?
1. For Nursery, Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten
Effective School Year 2018-2019, the Omnibus Kindergarten Policy as stipulated in DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016 will be fully implemented at the preschool of Notre Dame University-Elementary Training Department. This is pursuant to the Kindergarten Education Act (Republic Act No. 10157) and the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 (Republic Act. No. 10533).
For Nursery, Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten, checklist and anecdotal records are used instead of numerical grades. These are based on learning standards found in the Kindergarten curriculum guide. The teachers keep a portfolio, which is a record or compilation of the learner’s output, such as writing samples, accomplished activity sheets, test results and artwork. The portfolio can provide concrete evidence of how much or how well the pupil/student is able to accomplish the skills and competencies. Through checklist, the teacher will be able to indicate whether or not the child is able to demonstrate knowledge and /or perform the tasks expected of Kindergarten learners. Through anecdotal records or narrative reports, teachers will be able to describe learner’s behavior, attitude, and effort in school work.
2. For Grades 1 to 6
In a grading period, there is one Quarterly Assessment (QA) but there should be instances for students to demonstrate what they know and can do through Performance Tasks. There is no required number of Written Work or Performance Tasks, but these should be spread over the quarter and used to assess learners’ skills.
STEPS IN COMPUTING FOR THE FINAL GRADES
Step 1:
Grades from all pupil/student work are added up. This results in the total score for each component, namely Written Work (WW), Performance Tasks (PT), and Quarterly Assessment (QA).
Raw scores from each component have to be converted to a Percentage Score. This is to ensure that values are parallel to each other.
Step 2:
The sum for each component is converted to the Percentage Score. To compute the Percentage Score (PS), divide the raw score by the highest possible score then multiply by 100%. This is shown below:
Step 3:
Percentage Scores are then converted to Weighted Scores to show the importance of each component in promoting learning in the different subjects.
To do this, Percentage Score is multiplied by the weight of the component found in Table 4 for Grades 1 to 10 and Table 5 for Senior High School. The product is known as the Weighted Score (WS).
Table 4. Weight of Components for Grades 1-6.
| Components | Religion/Islamic (EsP), English, Filipino, *Mother Tongue, Araling Panlipunan | Science & Math | MAPEH & EPP/TLE, Computer |
| Written Work (WW) | 30% | 40% | 20% |
| Performance Task (PT) | 50% | 40% | 60% |
| Quarterly Assessment (QA) | 20% | 20% | 20% |
Step 4:
The sum of the Weighted Scores in each component is the Initial Grade. This Initial Grade will be transmuted using the given transmutation table to get the Quarterly Grade (QG).
Step 5:
The Quarterly Grade for each learning area is written in the report card of the pupil/student.
For MAPEH, individual grades are given to each area, namely, Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health. The quarterly grade for MAPEH is the average of the quarterly grades in the four areas.
Quarterly Grade (QG) for MAPEH = (QG for Music + QG for Arts + QG for PE + QG for Health) / 4
HOW ARE GRADES COMPUTED AT THE END OF THE YEAR?
For Nursery, Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten
There are no numerical grades in Kindergarten as stipulated in DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016 – Omnibus Policy on Kindergarten. Descriptions of the pupil’s/student’s progress in the various learning areas are represented using checklists and progress report. These are presented to the parents at the end of each quarter for discussion.
For Grades 1-10
The average of the Quarterly Grades (QG) produces the Final Grade.
Final Grade by Learning Area = (1st Qtr Grade + 2nd Qtr Grade + 3rd Qtr Grade + 4th Qtr Grade) / 4
The General Average is computed by dividing the sum of all final grades by the total number of learning areas. Each learning area has equal weight.
General Average = Sum of all Learning Areas Average / Total Number of Learning Areas
The Final Grade in each learning area and the General Average are reported as whole numbers.
HOW IS THE PUPIL’S PROGRESS REPORTED?
The summary of pupil’s/student’s progress is shown quarterly to parents and guardians through a parent-teacher conference, in which the report is discussed. The grading scale, with its corresponding descriptors, are shown below.
| Descriptor | Grading Scale | Remarks |
| Outstanding | 90-100 | Passed |
| Very Satisfactory | 85-89 | Passed |
| Satisfactory | 80-84 | Passed |
| Fairly Satisfactory | 75-79 | Passed |
| Did Not Meet Expectations | Below 75 | Failed |
Using the sample class record in Table 6, Pupil A received an Initial Grade of 84.86 in English for the First Quarter, which, when transmuted to a grade of 90, is equivalent to Outstanding. Pupil B received a transmuted grade of 88, which is equivalent to Very Satisfactory. Pupil C received a grade of 71, which means that the learner Did Not Meet Expectations in the First Quarter of Grade 4 English.
When a pupil’s/student’s raw scores are consistently below expectations in Written Work and Performance Tasks, the pupil’s/student’s parents or guardians must be informed not later than the fifth week of that quarter. This will enable them to help and guide their child to improve and prepare for the Quarterly Assessment. A pupil/student who receives a grade below 75 in any subject in a quarter must be given intervention through remediation and extra lessons from the teacher/s of that subject.