TL;DR: Three things changed recently that every Filipino parent should know. Senior high school now has two tracks, Academic and TechPro, with five core subjects taught in Grade 11 (DepEd Order 017, s. 2026). Mother tongue instruction in Kindergarten to Grade 3 has ended under Republic Act 12027. And the With Honors tiers are gone — DepEd Order 015, s. 2026 replaced them with one Academic Excellence Award. Most parenting advice online, and a good deal of school-gate advice, still describes the old system.
Introduction
Choosing a school in the Philippines is hard enough without the ground moving under you. Between 2024 and 2026 the Department of Education replaced its grading and awards policy, restructured senior high school, and Congress ended mother tongue instruction in the early grades. A guide written even two years ago now describes a system your child is not in.
This one is written for parents and current as of August 2026. It covers what to expect at each level under the rules that actually apply, what the changes mean in practice, and how to judge a school when the categories keep shifting.
What Changed, and What It Means
| Change | Issuance | What it means for your child |
|---|---|---|
| Mother tongue no longer the medium of instruction in K-3 | RA 12027 | Teaching reverts to Filipino and English; regional languages become auxiliary, optional in monolingual classes |
| Senior high restructured to two tracks | DepEd Order 017, s. 2026 | Academic and TechPro only; five core subjects, all in Grade 11 |
| Grading and awards policy replaced | DepEd Order 015, s. 2026 | One Academic Excellence Award; the With Honors tiers no longer exist |
| Kindergarten cut-off widened | DepEd Order 015, s. 2025 | Five years old by October 31, with an ECCD or ECD Checklist route for later birthdays |
| Enrollment requirements simplified | DepEd Order 017, s. 2025 | PSA birth certificate submitted once for all of K to 12 |
What to Expect at Each Level
Kindergarten
Kindergarten is compulsory and must be completed before Grade 1. Learning is play-based, focused on early literacy, counting, social skills and motor development.
Under DepEd Order 015, s. 2025, a child must be five years old on or before October 31 of the school year. Children turning five between November 1 and December 31 may still be admitted if they completed a one-year Early Childhood Care and Development programme in a registered learning centre, or pass the Philippine Early Childhood Development Checklist administered during enrollment. Private schools are required to follow the same cut-off, though they may run their own readiness assessments.
Public kindergarten is free, including learning materials. Our kindergarten enrollment guide covers the process in detail.
Elementary School (Grades 1 to 6)
Elementary lays the academic foundation across English, Filipino, Mathematics, Science, Araling Panlipunan, MAPEH and Edukasyon sa Pagpapakatao.
The significant change here is the language of instruction. Republic Act 12027 discontinued the use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3, amending the Enhanced Basic Education Act. Instruction reverts to Filipino and English, with regional languages as auxiliary media, and mother tongue use remains optional in monolingual classes. If a school still describes an MTB-MLE programme as mandatory, it is describing a repealed policy.
Public elementary education is free. Contributions solicited at enrollment are voluntary — know that before you are asked.
Junior High School (Grades 7 to 10)
Junior high deepens subject knowledge and introduces Technology and Livelihood Education. By Grade 10 your child should have a clearer sense of their strengths, which matters because the senior high decision comes immediately after.
Start the track conversation in Grade 9, not Grade 10. It is a two-track decision now, and reversing it costs a year.
Senior High School (Grades 11 to 12)
This is where the biggest structural change landed. DepEd Order 017, s. 2026, the Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum, replaced the previous four-track structure with two tracks:
- Academic — the college-preparation route, with strands including STEM, ABM, HUMSS and General Academic.
- Technical-Professional (TechPro) — job-ready skills, with TESDA certification pathways.
The curriculum also streamlines the core to five core subjects, all delivered in Grade 11: Effective Communication or Mabisang Komunikasyon, General Mathematics, General Science, Life and Career Skills, and Pag-aaral ng Kasaysayan at Lipunang Pilipino. Because they are completed in Grade 11, core subjects are no longer offered in Grade 12, which frees that year for specialisation and immersion.
All Grade 11 learners are under this curriculum from SY 2026-2027. Our strengthened SHS curriculum guide and tracks and strands explainer cover the choice in detail.
College and University
Higher education typically takes four to five years for a bachelor degree, at state universities and colleges, local universities and colleges, or private higher education institutions.
Tuition and other school fees are free at SUCs, CHED-recognised LUCs and state-run TVIs under Republic Act 10931. Private tuition is not covered, but students there can apply for the Tertiary Education Subsidy. UniFAST Memorandum Circular No. 01, s. 2026, sets TES at ₱20,000 per academic year for students in SUCs and CHED-recognised LUCs and ₱27,000 per academic year in private HEIs, with an additional ₱10,000 a year for a grantee who is a person with disability and a one-time ₱8,000 reimbursement for licensure exam takers. There is no peso income cap; applicants are ranked by household per capita income. The Tulong Dunong Program provides ₱7,500 per regular semester, ₱15,000 a year, under MC 02, s. 2026, for students not already on TES or a CHED scholarship. All of it is subject to prioritisation and available funds.
Grades and Awards: What Replaced With Honors
If you remember the With Honors, With High Honors and With Highest Honors tiers, they no longer exist. DepEd Order 015, s. 2026 revised the guidelines on classroom assessment, grading and awards, replacing DepEd Order 8, s. 2015 and DepEd Order 36, s. 2016.
In their place is a single Academic Excellence Award, given to learners with a general average of at least 90 and no grade below 80, and the recipients are listed alphabetically rather than ranked into tiers. The weighted components of the old DO 8 grading system survive only for Grade 12 in SY 2026-2027, as a transition arrangement.
This matters practically. School group chats, review sites and older articles are full of advice about hitting a 95 average for Highest Honors. That target does not exist any more. Our DepEd grading system guide and the note on the status of DepEd Order 8, s. 2015 set out what replaced it.
How to Judge a School
Price is a weak predictor of quality. These are stronger.
Recognition first. Every legitimate basic education school holds a DepEd permit or recognition. Ask to see it. For colleges, check that the specific programme is CHED-recognised, not just the institution.
Accreditation, if any. Voluntary accreditation through PAASCU, PACUCOA or AACCUP runs in levels, with higher levels indicating a longer record of meeting external standards. Absence of accreditation is not disqualifying, but its presence is verifiable evidence.
Class size, measured not claimed. Visit during class hours and count. Ask what the largest section in your child year level actually is, not the average.
Teacher qualifications and turnover. Ask what proportion of teachers hold postgraduate qualifications, and how many left last year. High turnover tells you more about a school than a brochure does.
Facilities you can see. Working laboratories, a stocked library, clean and functioning restrooms. Visit rather than rely on photographs.
Outcomes at the level that matters to you. For senior high and college, ask about graduate performance in the relevant licensure or entrance examinations, and ask for the numbers rather than a claim.
Support services. Guidance counselling, provision for learners with additional needs, and health services indicate a school that has thought past test scores.
Public or Private: A Practical Framework
Judge the specific schools you can actually reach, not the categories. A well-run public school in your barangay will serve your child better than a struggling private school across the city, and the reverse is also true.
Public school suits you if the local school is well-regarded and manageable in size, budget is a primary concern, and your child copes in larger group settings.
Private school suits you if you can afford it without financial strain, smaller classes and specific programmes matter to you, and the particular school offers something the public option does not.
Whichever way you lean, visit both, on a normal school day, and talk to parents whose children are enrolled now.
Financial Aid Worth Knowing About
- RA 10931 — free tuition and other school fees at SUCs, CHED-recognised LUCs and state-run TVIs, plus TES for eligible students elsewhere.
- CHED scholarship programmes — merit and need-based grants administered nationally.
- School-based scholarships — academic, athletic, sibling and need-based discounts that private schools rarely advertise. Always ask admissions directly.
- TESDA scholarships — funded training for technical-vocational courses, which pairs naturally with the TechPro track.
Sources
- Republic Act No. 12027, discontinuing the mother tongue as medium of instruction from Kindergarten to Grade 3 — lawphil.net
- DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026, Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum — deped.gov.ph
- DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System and Awards and Recognition — deped.gov.ph
- DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2025, amendment to the Omnibus Policy on Kindergarten Education — deped.gov.ph
- DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, Revised Basic Education Enrollment Policy — deped.gov.ph
- CHED-UniFAST, Tertiary Education Subsidy and Tulong Dunong benefits — unifast.gov.ph
- Republic Act No. 10931, Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act — lawphil.net
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