On May 15, 2013, the Philippine government enacted the Republic Act (RA) No. 10533, also known as the “Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.” This legislation aims to enhance the country’s education system by bolstering the curriculum and adding two more years to complete basic education. As a result, the Department of Education (DepEd) implemented the K to 12 Curriculum and a new grading system to assess learners’ performance. The department also issued the DepEd Transmutation Table to help teachers evaluate learners’ final grades.
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Its issuance conforms with the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. This grading system can help implement the K to 12 curriculum, specifically in classroom assessment. In addition, it enables teachers to monitor and evaluate learners’ progress so they can appropriately modify their instructions and teaching methods. With the DepEd Transmutation Table, teachers can properly assess learner’s knowledge, performance, development, and competencies. Therefore, teachers should familiarize themselves with this formula, from initial computation to transmuting grades.
What is the DepEd Transmutation Table?
The DepEd Transmutation Table contains the formula for evaluating learners’ final grades. In this formula, all grades depend on learners’ weighted raw scores from summative assessments. To pass a learning area, learners should meet a minimum grade of 60. It is converted to 75 when applied to the report card. Meanwhile, 60 should be the lowest mark appearing on the report card. Hence, the transmutation table serves as a conversion of grades that appear on the report card.
DepEd Order 8, series 2015
Following the implementation of the Enhance Basic Education Act of 2013 or Republic Act (RA) No. 10533, the Department of Education issued the DepEd Order (DO) 8, series (s.) 2015, titled “Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program. This policy consists of guidelines for classroom assessment, which took effect in the school year (SY) 2015-2016. It also contains a standard and competency-based grading system.
DepEd Order 8, series 2015, also enclosed the steps for computing grades. The following instructions below show how to compute the transmuted grade:
- Get the total score for each component.
- Divide the total raw score by the highest possible score. Next, multiply the quotient by 100%.
- Convert Percentage Scores to Weighted Scores. Then, multiply the Percentage Score by the weight of the component.
- Add the Weighted Score of each component to obtain the Initial Grade.
- Afterward, transmute the Initial Grade using the DepEd Transmutation Table.
DepEd Memorandum 42, series 2020
On March 15, 2020, the Department of Education issued the DepEd Memorandum (DM) 42, series (s.) 2020, known as the “Guidelines for the Remainder of School Year 2019-2020 in Light of COVID-19 Measures.” It is promulgated concerning public health safety to prevent local transmission of COVID-19 within communities. Through the Office of the President (OP) and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), the Philippine government enforced strict social distancing measures and guidelines to manage COVID-19 cases. DepEd adopts social distancing measures for the remainder of the school year (SY) 2019-2020.
Furthermore, a transmutation table is issued to schools or classes within educational institutions unable to administer the 4th Quarter Examination. The transmutation formula can help evaluate the final grades of learners who cannot take the said examination. However, schools should still use DepEd Order 8, series 2015 (Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program) to compute learners’ Fourth Quarter grades, except if based on class standing (CS) consisting of performance tasks and written works.
Enclosure No. 2 to DM 42, s. 2020
The following table represents the range of Initial Grades and corresponding Transmuted Grades that will appear in the learner’s report card:
Table 1. Transmutation Table for Grades 1-10 and Non-Core Subjects of TVL, Sports, and Arts & Design
Table 1 shows the class standing (CS) totals 80% using the original formula for all learning areas in Grades 1 to 10 and non-core subjects in the Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL), Sports, Arts, and Design track for Senior High School (SHS). After calculating the weighted score in every component, the CS grade of learners can be transmuted using the table below to determine the Fourth Quarter Grade.
Table 2. Transmutation Table for SHS Core Subjects
Table 2 represents the CS totals of 75% in the original formula for all core subjects in Senior High School (SHS), Work Immersion, Research, Business Enterprise, Simulation, Exhibit, and Performance in the Academic Track. After computing each component’s weighted score, the CS grade of learners can be transmuted using the table below to obtain the Fourth Quarter Grade.
Table 3. Transmutation Table for all other SHS Subjects in the Academic Track
Meanwhile, CS totals 70% in the original formula for all other SHS subjects in the Academic Track. Then, the CS grade of learners can be transmuted using the table below to find out the Fourth Quarter Grade once you have computed the weighted score of each component.
Enclosure No. 3 to DM 42, s. 2020
Apart from the transmutation table, DepEd released a sample computation table for Grades 1 to 10. Enclosure No. 3 below contains steps and computations to determine the Transmuted Grade, which will appear in the learner’s report card.
Sample Computation for Grades 1-10
Video: THE DEPED TRANSMUTATION FORMULA | Excel for Teachers | Carlo Excels
Watch the video below to learn more about the DepEd Transmutation Formula:
As discussed in the video below, educational institutions in the Philippines have adopted the DepEd Transmutation Table since the school year 2015. The Department of Education issued this grading system, consisting of the initial grade of learners and the transmuted grades appearing on the report card. While many may say this grading system is troublesome, the transmutation table can be automated in Excel.
Teachers no longer need to compute the transmuted grade manually since they can apply it to Excel. Moreover, there are various ways that teachers can automate the transmutation table. Thus, teachers can easily convert or transmute the initial grade of learners, which will appear on the report card.
Summary
Classroom assessment is a vital process to track and evaluate learners’ progress. This process will provide quantitative and qualitative information regarding learners’ obtained knowledge, skills, and competence. It will also ensure that teachers comply with the curriculum standards to provide quality education. Aside from that, teachers can use their assessments to change their teaching methods, ensuring learners can comprehend the instructions provided.
With that said, teachers can use the results of their evaluation to determine learners’ progress in various components, from written work, performance tasks, and quarterly assessments. Compute these figures to obtain learners’ initial grades or raw scores. After calculating the initial grade, teachers will convert or transmute the grades based on the DepEd Transmutation Table, which should appear on the learner’s report card.