Schools to not hold periodical exams this school year to avoid cheating in distance learning -DepEd

Concerns were raised over the quality of education the students would get while the learning shifted to distance learning, as well as on how will teachers assess the students learning progress.

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Following the concerns, the Department of Education (DepEd) appealed to parents and other significant adults to be part of the solution to avoid the possibility of distance cheating.

And on Monday, DepEd annouced that schools will not be holding periodical examinations for this school year to prevent distance cheating.

The department acknowledges the importance of periodical tests in assessing students' understanding of the lessons, however because of the changes made brought by the pandemic, Education Undersecretary for curriculum and instruction Diosdado San Antonio said that it pushes them to be more creative and flexible in implementing summative assessment schemes without sacrificing assessment’s credibility.

According to San Antonio, the department would instead use written outputs and performance tasks to assess the learning of students.

Ang periodic test, 20 percent ng grade eh. Ang i-a-administer mo, isang araw lang. Ang feeling namin, that’s very unfair to the learner, lalo na ang mga learner ngayon, iba’t iba ang situwasyon,

San Antonio said.

[Periodic tests account for 20 percent of the grade. You’ll only administer it for a day. We feel that it’s very unfair for the learner, especially now that they’re in different situations.]

He added that students can write reflections of their readings, or record a speech explaining how they understand a lesson to show how much they have learned. He said,

Kapag ganyan, nilalagay sa portfolio, iniipon ang proof [of] what they can do and understand,

[In this case, everything is compiled in a portfolio, as proof of what they can do and understand.]

San Antonio also explained that private schools are strongly encouraged but not required to adopt the policy on periodical tests for the coming school year.

Aside from postponing the periodical examinations this school year, San Antonio appealed to parents or those guiding the students at home to take the lead in fostering the value of honesty.

Teachers were also advised to do occasional conversations with students throughout so they would know their learning progress.