MANILA, Philippines — The Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2) has called for a definitive end to the “de facto mass promotion” of students in public schools, warning that the practice is masking a critical decline in actual learner proficiency.
In its final report, “Turning Point: A Decade of Necessary Reforms,” released on Monday, January 26, 2026, the commission revealed that students are routinely advanced to higher grade levels regardless of whether they have mastered required skills in reading, mathematics, and science.
The ‘Transmutation’ Issue A central finding of the report is the “divergence” between report card grades and actual skills. Edcom 2 specifically pointed to Department Order No. 8, series of 2015, known as the transmutation policy:
- Inflated Grades: Under this system, a raw score of 60 to 61.59 is automatically converted to a passing grade of 75. This allows students who perform far below proficiency to appear as if they have met minimum requirements.
- Distorted Data: The commission noted that these practices “inflate reported achievement” and provide a “misleading” foundation for curriculum reforms and learning recovery programs.
- Parental Confusion: Teachers reported difficulty explaining to parents why a child who “passed” their grade level still cannot read independently or solve basic math problems.
Systemic Pressure on Teachers The report highlighted that the current evaluation metrics create a “domino effect” that discourages failing students:
- Fear of Sanction: High failure rates can lead to close scrutiny or administrative blame for teachers and principals.
- Headline Metrics: Because promotion and dropout rates are used as “headline metrics” for performance reviews, there is a strong incentive to promote learners regardless of nonmastery.
- Teacher Autonomy: Edcom 2 recommended amending the Results-based Performance Management System (RPMS) by 2027 to ensure that a teacher’s performance rating is not linked to student promotion rates.
Disrupted Instructional Time The commission also found that the actual time spent on teaching is being “crowded out” by external factors:
- Legislated Activities: Public schools operate with an average of only 191 actual class days per year due to over 120 legislated observances and large-scale cocurricular events like the Palarong Pambansa and the National Schools Press Conference.
- Congested Curriculum: Teachers are often forced to compress a year’s worth of lessons into fewer days, displacing core instructions.
- External Factors: Absenteeism, child labor, and a lack of parental support at home further exacerbate the learning crisis.
Key Recommendations To address these challenges, Edcom 2 proposed the following reforms:
- Full Implementation of ARAL: DepEd should fully execute the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning (ARAL) Program (RA 12028) from 2028 to 2035 to help students catch up in core subjects.
- Rationalize Cocurricular Events: Conduct a system-wide review to protect instructional time while preserving high-value learning opportunities.
- Outcome-Focused Evaluation: Transition to a performance management system for educators that centers on actual student learning improvements rather than compliance with promotion quotas.
The commission’s findings underscore that without honest documentation of learning gaps and a realignment of grading rules to reflect actual mastery, the country’s multi-billion peso investments in education will continue to rest on an “unstable foundation.”