The original article requires translation.
This, after a viral social media post noted a seemingly increasing number of students who are given academic awards, while the country ranked poorly in 2023 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).
"Iba naman ang parameters na ginagamit ng PISA when it comes to determining the scores of the countries. Iba rin naman ang parameters ang ginagamit natin for the awards and recognition sa schools based on achievements. So hindi natin pwede i-compare iyong results ng ating classroom performances with that of international large-scale assessments," DepEd Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas said in an interview over TeleRadyo Serbisyo.
The current awards system, which has been implemented since the beginning of the K to 12 program, removed the titles “valedictorian”, “salutatorian” and “hononary mentions" which were limited only to the 10 students in a class or batch.
Bringas said students who achieve the average grade of 90 to 94 will automatically be given the "with honors" award, "with high honors" for those with 95 to 97, and "with highest honors" for students who reached 98 to 100 average grade.
"Kapag mayroon tayong valedictorian at salutatorian, the learners are competing with other learners, but with the new grading system, or awards system you are competing with yourself and kung nami-meet mo ang standard then you will be recognized," the official said.
"Iyong ganitong awards system it really highly encourages our learners to strive. It is more inclusive dahil hindi na siya nagiging limited to just the top 10 in the class," he added.
SUBJECTIVE GRADES
The Teachers Dignity Coalition (TDC) believes the current awarding system should be reviewed.
TDC Chairperson Benjo Basas noted that while the current awarding mechanism encouraged students to focus on their own academic excellence, there is no uniformity or solid standard in the giving of grades.
He said he realized this after handling transferees who were behind in learning but had good scholastic records in their previous schools.
"Ang ating mga teacher and even ang ating mga school ay binababa ang standard nila o di kaya ay nagbibigay ng kaunting kunsiderasyon doon sa mga bata kasi siempre kapag iyong bata nakikita po na nagsisikap tapos parang deserving naman siya na ireward," Basas told ABS-CBN News.
"Ang grades ng bata hindi lang naman nanggagaling sa exam, hindi lang naman iyan galing sa paper and pencil test, mayroon din naman diyang subjective. Halimbawa, iyong performance ng mga bata ay pagsusulat niya, iyong physical performance tulad ng pag-arte, at iba pa," he said.
"Ang problema dito kada isang lokalidad, isang eskwelahan maaaring magiba iba.Nagba-vary po ang appreciation ng ating teacher," he continued.