Awards season used to be simple to describe and painful to run: rank the learners, argue about the cut-offs, print the certificates. DepEd Order No. 15, s. 2026 changed both the criteria and the philosophy. There is no ranking. There is no first, second, or third honors. Awardees are listed alphabetically, and the awards are meant to affirm growth, integrity, and sustained effort rather than crown a winner.
If you are an adviser preparing a list this term, this is what the order asks for, who qualifies, and what to prepare before the Awards Committee meets. Awards are one piece of a larger set of changes — see what changed in the three-term school year for the rest.
The 10-second answer: Academic Excellence needs a general average of at least 90, no final grade below 80, and no derogatory record or disciplinary case during the school year. Awardees are listed alphabetically — no rankings. Grade 1 has no academic awards; Grades 2–3 may give Academic Excellence at the school’s option; Grades 4–12 follow the full criteria. The adviser proposes, the school’s Awards Committee decides.
What actually changed
Three changes matter most to an adviser filling out a list:
- No ranking. Honors are not ordered. Every learner who meets the criteria is recognised, and the list is alphabetical. There is no valedictorian-style ladder inside the classroom awards, and no “top ten” to defend to parents.
- A second gate below the average. A general average of 90 is not enough on its own. A single final grade below 80 disqualifies, no matter how high the average. This is the rule most spreadsheets miss, because a strong average can easily hide one weak learning area.
- Conduct counts. A derogatory record or serious disciplinary case within the school year disqualifies, independent of grades.
Academic Excellence: the three conditions
| Condition | Requirement | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| General average | At least 90 | Final grades in every learning area, averaged |
| Lowest final grade | Not below 80 in any learning area | The report card, after transmutation |
| Conduct | No derogatory record or disciplinary case in the school year | School records, not the class record |
All three must hold. Compute the general average only when every learning area has a final grade — an incomplete set cannot produce a valid average, and an award proposed on incomplete grades will come back for correction.
Which grade levels give it
- Grade 1: no academic awards. Grade 1 reporting is descriptive, through the PACE Form and the Learner’s Progress Report; recognition at this level is about character and participation, not averages. See the Grade 1 PACE Form and Progress Report.
- Grades 2–3: Academic Excellence may be given at the school’s choice.
- Grades 4–12: the full criteria above apply.
Leadership Excellence
The leadership award is not a popularity contest, and it is not automatic for the class president. The order sets conditions that are easy to check and easy to forget:
- No failing grade in any learning area.
- No derogatory record during the school year.
- A genuine leadership role — a class officer, or an active club member or officer.
- At least 90% on the school’s leadership rubric. The rubric weights motivational and communication skills at 40%, planning and organisational ability at 40%, and contribution at 20%.
That rubric is the part advisers most often improvise on the day. Build it once, apply it to every candidate, and keep the scored sheets — it converts an awkward conversation with a parent into a documented decision. If you need a model for building defensible criteria, our guide to writing a rubric for a performance task transfers directly.
Excellence in a Specific Learning Area
This one recognises the highest final grade in the batch for a learning area, provided that grade is not lower than 90. Two details decide most cases:
- Ties are all recognised. If three learners share the highest final grade, all three receive it. There is no tie-break, and inventing one to keep the list short is not yours to do.
- It is a batch comparison, not a section comparison. The highest grade in your section may not be the highest in the grade level. This award is assembled above the classroom, which is why your job is to submit accurate final grades on time, not to pre-judge who wins.
What an adviser actually prepares
- Finish the report cards first. Every award depends on final grades that are already computed, transmuted, and checked — including the year-end outcome for each learner, covered in promotion, retention, and the Summer Remedial Class. Nothing below works on draft numbers.
- Produce the candidate list mechanically. Average, minimum final grade, and the conduct flag. Sort alphabetically, not by average — the alphabetical list is what gets submitted, and building it that way from the start prevents a ranked draft from leaking into circulation.
- Attach the evidence. Leadership rubric sheets, club membership or officership records, and the conduct check.
- Hand it to the Awards Committee. The adviser proposes; the committee decides. Say this plainly to parents who ask early — it is both true and the kindest answer available.
- Keep the working files. DO 15 expects assessment evidence to be retained for at least one school year, and award disputes are precisely when that matters.
The conversation to prepare for
A parent whose child averaged 91 but scored 78 in one learning area will ask why there is no award. The answer is that the order sets a floor of 80 in every learning area, and the floor exists so that recognition means consistent performance rather than a strong average carrying a weak spot. Being able to show the actual final grades, in writing, on the day, is the difference between a short conversation and a long one.
Frequently asked questions
Is there still a valedictorian or salutatorian?
Classroom and grade-level awards under DO 15 are not ranked, and are listed alphabetically. Graduation honors are governed by their own issuances and your school’s practice — ask your school head rather than assuming either way, because this is exactly the kind of detail that gets clarified by a later memorandum.
Does a final grade of 79.5 round up to 80?
Work from the final grade as it appears on the report card, after transmutation. Do not round a second time to reach a threshold; re-rounding an already-rounded grade is how two teachers end up with two different award lists from one class record. Our transmutation guide covers where rounding legitimately happens.
Can a learner receive more than one award?
Yes. Academic Excellence, Leadership Excellence, and Excellence in a Specific Learning Area are separate recognitions with separate criteria.
What about learners who bring honor to the school in competitions?
The order also provides recognition for distinction in competitions, contests, and exhibitions at division level and above, and for excellence in research or innovation with practical community application. These are usually assembled at school level; give your school’s coordinator the documentation as it happens, not in May.
Where Skoolari fits
Skoolari’s DepEd mode builds the award lists from the class record you already keep. It computes each learner’s general average and lowest final grade, applies the DO 15 conditions including the conduct flag you tick, and prints the Academic Excellence list alphabetically — with the learners it excluded and the reason why, so you can check its reasoning instead of trusting it. Leadership and learning-area awards are proposed the same way, with the rubric and batch comparison left visible. Nothing is submitted anywhere: it prints a proposal for your Awards Committee, and the committee decides. Advisers with several sections can print all of their award lists in one file. See the plans.
Check every criterion against the current DepEd issuances and your school’s own guidance before submitting a list. Where an award detail is set by your school — the leadership rubric above all — your school’s version is the one that counts.