DepEd's New Grading System Under MATATAG: What Changed

TL;DR: DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, signed June 4, 2026, is a real, confirmed issuance that replaces the old grading policy (DO 8, s. 2015) starting school year 2026-2027. Confirmed changes: Kindergarten to Grade 3 move to descriptive, non-numeric grading in phases through SY 2028-2029; Grades 4-12 keep numeric grades but with renamed, reweighted components; and grade transmutation is being phased out entirely for Grades 4-12 by SY 2027-2028. What is not fully settled: exactly how strictly private schools must follow it, and some transitional bracket details that outlets have reported but DepEd has not published in a single consolidated table.

If you searched "DepEd new grading system 2026" or "is grading really changing under MATATAG," the short answer is yes — but the change comes from a separate grading order, not from the MATATAG curriculum itself. DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 was signed and released on June 4, 2026, timed to take effect as MATATAG's K-10 rollout reaches full implementation. This guide separates what that order actually confirms from what is still a projection, transition detail, or third-party report, so you know exactly what to expect for your child's report card this school year. For the full mechanics of how a grade is computed, see our DepEd grading system guide and transmutation table breakdown.

Is DepEd's New Grading System Confirmed, or Just Rumored?

It is confirmed. DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, titled "Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program," was signed by Education Secretary Sonny Angara on June 4, 2026. It officially repeals DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015 (the old classroom assessment policy) and DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016 (the old awards and recognition policy), and takes effect starting school year 2026-2027 in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.

That said, not every detail circulating online traces back to the order itself. Some numbers reported by education blogs and social media pages, particularly full transmutation bracket tables for the SY 2026-2027 transition year, are summarized from secondary coverage rather than quoted directly from a single published table. Where this post cites a specific number, it comes from DepEd's own order or from a named news outlet reporting on it; anything not yet nailed down is flagged as such below.

Did MATATAG Cause the Grading Change?

Not directly. The MATATAG curriculum, formalized through DO 10, s. 2024, changed the content: it cut learning competencies by more than 70% and reorganized subjects, especially in Grades 1-2. That is a curriculum reform. DO 015, s. 2026 is a separate, later assessment and grading reform, issued about two years after MATATAG began rolling out, and timed to reach schools as MATATAG's implementation reaches Grades 6, 9, and 10 in SY 2026-2027 and full K-10 coverage in SY 2027-2028.

The two reforms are related in intent (both aim at deeper mastery instead of curriculum coverage or grade inflation) but they are two different DepEd orders, and it's worth keeping that distinction straight when you read "MATATAG grading changes" online — the grading order has its own number, its own signing date, and its own separate transition timeline.

What Confirmed Changes Matter Most for Parents?

Disclaimer: grading rules are actively transitioning by grade level and school year. Confirm which order and which table applies to your child's specific grade with their school before drawing conclusions from a single report card number.

What Changes for Kindergarten Through Grade 3?

Numbers disappear, replaced by descriptive reporting. Starting SY 2026-2027, Kindergarten and Grade 1 learners no longer receive a numeric grade; instead, teachers report progress using qualitative descriptors (reported elsewhere as Consistent, Developing, and Beginning for Kindergarten) plus narrative summaries. Grade 2 follows in SY 2027-2028, and Grade 3 completes the shift in SY 2028-2029 — DepEd is not switching all of Key Stage 1 in one year.

Academic honors change too: no numeric-average honors are given at this level anymore. In their place, DepEd has confirmed a non-academic "Character Traits" recognition, meant to reward effort, behavior, and growth rather than rank students against each other. DepEd's own framing for this shift is explicit about the goal of avoiding early competition and labeling among young learners.

What Changes for Grades 4 to 12?

Numeric grading stays, but the underlying formula changes. Grades 4-12 continue to receive a 0-100 numeric grade with 75 as the passing mark, but DO 015, s. 2026 renames the old three grading components (Written Work, Performance Tasks, Quarterly Assessment) to Written/Oral Works, Product/Performance Tasks, and Examinations, and adjusts the weight split for most subject groups. Core subjects generally move toward a 20% Written/Oral Works, 50% Performance Tasks, 30% Examinations split, with MAPEH and EPP/TLE weighted more heavily toward Performance Tasks at roughly 20/60/20.

Because these weight tables differ by subject and by whether a school is still using the old DO 8, s. 2015 structure or the new one during the transition year, the full subject-by-subject breakdown and a worked example live in our companion DepEd grading system guide rather than being repeated here.

Is Grade Transmutation Really Going Away?

Yes, but in two steps, not all at once. Under the old DO 8, s. 2015 table, a raw Initial Grade of just 60.00% could still transmute to a passing 75 on the report card — a design that drew criticism for cushioning weak raw performance into a passing number. DO 015, s. 2026 confirms a phase-out:

• SY 2026-2027: An adjusted transmutation table applies, raising the bar so a raw Initial Grade of roughly 70.00 is needed to reach a transmuted passing 75, instead of 60.00 under the old table.
• SY 2027-2028 onward: Transmutation is removed entirely for Grades 4-12. A raw Initial Grade of 75 will show as a Final Grade of 75, with no upward scaling.

Education Secretary Sonny Angara framed the reasoning directly: "Dapat nakabatay sa tunay na pagkatuto ang pag-akyat ng bata," meaning a learner's advancement up a grade level should be based on real learning, not a converted number. For the complete bracket-by-bracket table and a worked example, see our transmutation table guide.

Does the New Order Change Academic Honors for Grades 4-12?

Yes, and more fundamentally than most coverage suggests. Paragraph 6 of DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 repeals DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016 — the order that created the With Honors, With High Honors and With Highest Honors tiers. Those three ranks no longer exist.

What replaces them, for learners in Grades 4 to 12, is a single Academic Excellence Award: a General Average of at least 90, no individual Final Grade below 80 in any learning area, and no derogatory records or disciplinary cases within the school year, with awardees listed alphabetically rather than ranked. The strings "With High Honors" and "With Highest Honors" appear nowhere in the signed order — neither in Table 13 of the body nor in Annex H.

The averages themselves are covered in With Honors in DepEd: what the current order requires, and how recognition is now decided and listed in how DepEd ranks honors in K-12.

Be careful what you read elsewhere on this. A widely circulated version describes a draft with a General Average threshold of 95 and a floor of 85; another states the three tiers survived. Neither matches the signed order.

One thing the order does preserve, which almost no summary mentions: under paragraph 76, a school may still issue a certification of a learner's actual academic rank on formal written request. Rank continues to exist in the records — it just no longer drives the ceremony.

Does the New Grading Order Apply to Private Schools?

The order itself settles this, though secondary coverage muddles it. DO 015, s. 2026 is unambiguously mandatory for all public elementary and secondary schools. Paragraph 4 of the order proper, and paragraph 6 of the enclosure, address non-DepEd schools — private institutions, state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, and Philippine Schools Overseas offering basic education. They are encouraged to adopt the guidelines, and may modify them consistent with their own institutional philosophy, vision and mission, subject to approval by the appropriate DepEd regional office.

So a private school may run a different scheme — but it needs regional office sign-off for the variation, not a free hand. If your child is in a private school, ask which scheme it has adopted and whether any modification was approved.

Because this detail affects whether your specific school is required to switch this year, the responsible move is to ask your child's school directly which policy — the old DO 8, s. 2015 system or the new DO 015, s. 2026 system — it is using for SY 2026-2027, rather than assuming either answer.

Disclaimer: grading policy, honors criteria, and requirements change by school, grade level, and school year during this transition. Always confirm current rules with your child's teacher or school registrar rather than relying on any single online summary, including this one.

What Should Parents Do Now?

• Ask which order applies to your child's grade. Because the changes roll out by grade level and by year, a Grade 1 sibling and a Grade 9 sibling at the same school may be under different grading rules in the same school year.
• Don't assume "75" means the same thing it used to. The transmutation floor is rising this year and disappearing for Grades 4-12 by SY 2027-2028, so a report card grade is gradually moving closer to actual raw performance.
• Expect a narrative report, not a number, for K-3 children as the descriptive-grading rollout reaches your child's grade level.
• If your child is in a private school, ask directly whether the school has adopted DO 015, s. 2026 in full, in part, or is staying on the old system for now.
• Bookmark the official order. DepEd's own issuance, linked below, is the only fully authoritative source; treat blog summaries (including this one) as a starting point, not the final word, for any number you plan to act on.

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Sources

• DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 — Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition (official)
• DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015 — Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment (official, repealed by DO 015 s. 2026)
• DepEd to phase out grade transmutation in public schools — GMA News Online
• DepEd scraps grade transmutation in public schools — PhilSTAR Life
• DepEd Order No. 015, series 2026 overview — Aptikons
• DepEd Grading System Guidelines DO 015 s. 2026 — DepEd Club
• DepEd adopts descriptive grading for Key Stage 1 learners — BicolDotPH
• SchoolFinderPH — DepEd Grading System Guide
• SchoolFinderPH — DepEd Transmutation Table Explained
• SchoolFinderPH — MATATAG Curriculum Guide
• SchoolFinderPH — K-12 Curriculum in the Philippines