TL;DR: Retention is governed by DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, signed 4 June 2026 and implemented from school year 2026-2027. It expressly repealed DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015, the order that nearly every retention article still online describes. Under the current order a learner is retained only after failing more than two learning areas. Failing at most two triggers Summer Remedial Class, where a Remedial Class Mark is averaged with the Final Grade into a Recomputed Final Grade; 75 or higher passes. A learner still short one or two subjects after that is conditionally promoted and clears the deficiency as a back subject, one per term. The passing mark is still 75. The order also states that a learner must not be retained on age alone, on a single assessment result, or on academic performance by itself.
"Baka ma-retain" is one of the most anxiety-inducing phrases a Filipino parent hears from a teacher. The actual policy is more structured, and more forgiving, than the rumour mill suggests. It is also newer than almost everything written about it: the framework parents have been reading for the last decade was replaced in 2026, and retention now sits at the end of a longer ladder with more steps on it.
This guide walks through when DepEd allows a learner to repeat a grade, what the school has to do first, and where parents fit in. It complements our parent's guide to the Philippine education system. For the policy ladder set out clause by clause, including how conditional promotion and School-Initiated Intervention work, read our companion piece on when DepEd holds a learner back.
Which DepEd Order Governs Retention Now
The governing issuance is 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." It was signed on 4 June 2026 and is implemented starting school year 2026-2027 in all public elementary and secondary schools nationwide, consistent with the phased rollout of the revised curriculum.
Its repeal clause is not ambiguous. DO 015 repeals DepEd Order No. 8, s. 2015 (the old classroom assessment guidelines) and DepEd Order No. 36, s. 2016 (awards and recognition), and repeals, rescinds or modifies every other issuance inconsistent with it.
That matters for a practical reason. DO 8, s. 2015 governed for eleven years, so the volume of accurate-at-the-time material describing it is enormous, and most of it is still indexed, still being reshared in school group chats, and still printed in seminar decks. If a handout, class-record template or article tells you the rule is "three or more failed subjects under DO 8, s. 2015," it is describing a repealed order. We include the old rule below only as history.
One coverage note: the order is mandatory for public schools. Non-DepEd schools are encouraged to adopt it and may modify it in line with their own philosophy, vision and mission, subject to approval by the appropriate DepEd Regional Office. A private school's promotion rules can therefore legitimately differ from the public-school ladder, so ask your school which set it follows.
What Is the Passing Grade Under the Current Order?
Still 75. Under DO 015 the Final Grade in each learning area is the average of the Term Grades, rounded to the nearest whole number, and a Final Grade of 75 or higher means the learner met the minimum standards. A Final Grade below 75 obliges the school to provide remedial intervention or academic support.
Two things around that number did change:
- Terms, not quarters. The school year is organised into three terms under the Three-Term School Calendar, so a learner now has three Term Grades per learning area rather than four quarterly grades.
- Transmutation is on its way out. For SY 2026-2027 an adjusted transmutation table applies as a transition, under which a raw grade of 70 corresponds to a transmuted passing grade of 75. From SY 2027-2028, Key Stages 2 to 4 move to zero-based grading, where Term Grades come directly from the computed Initial Grades with no transmutation and 75 remains the minimum passing grade.
The order also pairs each numerical grade with a qualitative descriptor, which is what you will see on the report card:
| Grade | Descriptor | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | Advancing | Passed |
| 80-89 | Benchmarking | Passed |
| 75-79 | Connecting | Passed |
| 65-74 | Developing | Failed |
| 0-64 | Emerging | Failed |
For how a raw score becomes that number, see our DepEd grading system guide and the DepEd transmutation table.
Two details worth knowing before you panic at a low mark. For learning areas with several components, such as MAPEH, the learner passes if the Final Grade computed as the average of the components is 75 or above, even where one component fell short. And to avoid a single collapse defining a learner who participated and tried, the order sets a default minimum grade of 60 on the report card, meant to signal the need for targeted support rather than to label the learner a failure.
What Happens at the End of the School Year
For Key Stage 2 through Key Stage 4, and for Grades 2 and 3 while they are still numerically graded during the transition, DO 015 sets out four possible outcomes.
| Result at year-end | Outcome | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Passes all learning areas | Promoted | Moves up to the next grade level |
| Fails at most two learning areas | Summer Remedial Class | Remedial Class Mark averaged with the Final Grade; a Recomputed Final Grade of 75 or higher qualifies the learner for promotion |
| Still fails one or two after remediation | Conditionally promoted | Enrols in higher-level learning areas already passed while clearing the deficiency as a back subject through School-Initiated Intervention, one back subject per term |
| Fails more than two learning areas | Retained | Repeats the same grade level |
The row most families do not know exists is the third. Conditional promotion is a named outcome in the order, not an informal favour. A learner who is a little behind moves up carrying one back subject at a time rather than repeating a whole year of subjects they already passed. Clearing each back subject requires a passing Recomputed Final Grade, and the one-per-term cap exists so the arrangement does not turn into an unmanageable backlog.
Kindergarten to Grade 3 is deliberately treated differently. For Key Stage 1 the order requires promotion to be developmentally appropriate and non-punitive, with early intervention, flexible pacing and scaffolded instruction inside daily classroom teaching. Retention there is not an arithmetic outcome at all: where a learner shows significant difficulty in foundational literacy or numeracy despite sustained support, the school in consultation with the parents or guardians may recommend retention when it is judged to be in the child's best interest. The Grade 3 checkpoint assessment is explicitly non-high-stakes and is not used as a basis for promotion decisions.
The Remediation That Has to Come First
Remediation under DO 015 is not only a summer activity. Teachers are required to provide timely remediation within the term for learners consistently performing below expectations in written works, performance tasks and summative tests, and the order says those interventions should begin as early as Week 5, following the first summative test. They can run as classroom-based interventions, through programmes such as ARAL, or through other school-based strategies. Our ARAL Program guide covers that route in detail.
If a learner still ends the year short in at most two learning areas, the next step is Summer Remedial Class. Summative assessments given during it are recorded and computed the same way as Term Grades, producing a Remedial Class Mark, which is averaged with the original Final Grade:
Recomputed Final Grade = (Final Grade + Remedial Class Mark) ÷ 2
A Recomputed Final Grade of 75 or higher passes and qualifies the learner for promotion. On completion of remediation the school issues a Certificate of Recomputed Final Grade, which is the document to ask for, since it is what proves the deficiency was cleared.
One thing we cannot yet tell you: the order places Summer Remedial Class within the end-of-school-year intervention programme and says its schedule will come from the School Calendar policy issuance and its conduct from a separate DepEd issuance. Exact dates and mechanics for a given year therefore come from that year's issuance, not from this order. Ask your school for the current one rather than assuming last year's window.
What the Order Says About Not Retaining
DO 015 does not leave retention to a single arithmetic test. It states that learners shall not be retained solely on the basis of age, a single assessment result, or academic performance, and that promotion decisions must consider the learner's overall progress, readiness, the available assessment evidence, and their participation in the interventions and support the school provided.
Read that last clause carefully, because it cuts both ways. A retention proposal carries an implied claim that the school can point to the interventions it offered and to the learner's participation in them. If retention is raised, the fair questions are which learning areas, what remediation was provided and when, what the documentation shows, and whether Summer Remedial Class has been offered.
Attendance Can Fail a Learner Too
This one surprises families, and it is not about grades at all. Under DO 015 a learner who incurs absences exceeding 20 percent of the prescribed class days receives a failing grade and no credit, unless the absences are justified. The School Head may grant case-by-case exemptions for valid reasons subject to documentation, but the learner must still complete the required tasks and assessments.
The order pairs that with an early-warning duty: teachers are to monitor attendance and, by the end of Term 1 or at around twelve absences, provide timely feedback and intervention to the learner and to parents or guardians. Where absences are unavoidable, the school is to supply remediation, materials and assessment opportunities rather than simply record the gap.
A note on the old fifth-week rule: many articles state that teachers must notify parents by the fifth week of a quarter when a learner is struggling. That specific wording came from the repealed DO 8, s. 2015. DO 015 does not restate it in those terms. What it does set is the Week 5 remediation trigger after the first summative test and the attendance-based parent contact described above. If you want a formal notification commitment, ask the school directly rather than citing the old rule.
What About Senior High School?
Senior high is organised by semester and by subject rather than around one whole-year promotion decision, so a learner who fails a subject normally retakes that subject instead of repeating a year. DO 015 adds a specific rule for it: failing a prerequisite subject prevents enrolment in the higher-level subjects that build on it, until the learner obtains a passing Recomputed Final Grade through Summer Remedial Class or completes the prerequisite as a back subject.
The practical consequence is usually delay rather than a formal "retained" label, since a blocked prerequisite can push out an expected graduation timeline. Exactly when the retake is scheduled varies between schools, so confirm the arrangement with your own.
What Parents Should Do If Retention Is a Real Possibility
- Check the vintage of whatever you are being shown. If a form, template or explainer cites DO 8, s. 2015 as the current rule, it is out of date. Ask for the school's basis under DO 015, s. 2026.
- Ask for the specific learning areas and grades in writing, early. Remediation is meant to start within the term, not at year-end, so by the middle of a term the school should already be able to name the problem.
- Ask what remediation was provided, and when, and what was documented. The order requires remediation to be timely, targeted and documented, so there should be a record.
- Confirm Summer Remedial Class has been offered before treating retention as settled. A learner short in at most two learning areas goes there first, and a passing Recomputed Final Grade promotes them.
- Ask about conditional promotion. A learner still short one or two subjects after remediation is conditionally promoted with a back subject, not retained.
- Ask which rules a private school follows. Non-DepEd schools may adopt the order with approved modifications.
- Keep records of every conference and written notice. They matter if you need to question a decision with the school or the Schools Division Office.
The Old Rule, for Reference Only
Because it will keep turning up, here is what the repealed DO 8, s. 2015 provided, clearly labelled as superseded: a learner in Grades 1 to 10 failing three or more learning areas at year-end was retained; failing one or two triggered remedial classes, with a Recomputed Final Grade of 75 promoting the learner. The headline threshold is close to the current one, which is exactly why the substitution goes unnoticed. What the old order did not have is the conditional-promotion step, the School-Initiated Intervention back-subject route, the express bar on retaining a learner for age or a single assessment result, or the non-punitive Key Stage 1 treatment. Those are the parts worth knowing, and they only exist in the current order.
Disclaimer: DepEd is issuing supporting guidelines under DO 015, s. 2026 through the current transition, and some implementation details are expressly left to separate issuances. Confirm any rule affecting a specific learner with your child's school or your Schools Division Office, and read the order itself before acting on any summary, including this one.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare public and private schools with strong learner support programs across the Philippines on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 — Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program (official PDF)
- DepEd — DO 010, s. 2026: Guidelines for the Implementation of 2026 Summer Remediation Programs
- Department of Education — DO 8, s. 2015: Policy Guidelines on Classroom Assessment for the K to 12 Basic Education Program (repealed, cited here as history)
- SchoolFinderPH — When DepEd Holds a Learner Back
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd Grading System: How Your Child's Grades Are Computed
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd Transmutation Table Explained with Examples
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd ARAL Program: Free Tutoring for Struggling Learners
