Most public school teachers keep grades in the DepEd Electronic Class Record, the Excel workbook with one sheet per component and a summary sheet at the end. Many also keep a second copy somewhere else: a notebook, a phone app, a shared spreadsheet. The question comes up every term: is the second tool worth it, and is it allowed?
This guide compares the ECR workbook with a class record app honestly, including where the workbook is the better choice, and explains what DepEd Order No. 15, s. 2026 says about where grades are kept. For choosing among apps, read our separate guide to choosing a class record app in the Philippines.
The 10-second answer: The ECR is the official format your school expects, and your official record belongs in official DepEd systems, networks, or authorized drives (DO 15, Sec. 61). An app earns its place when it computes the same grades with less effort and fewer errors, and hands you something you can check against the ECR. Use the app to prepare, and keep the official copy where your school requires.
What the ECR does well
- It is the format your school checks. Coordinators and school heads know where every number lives.
- It works offline. No signal, no login, no subscription.
- The formulas are visible. You can click a cell and see how a grade was computed.
- It is free and familiar. Most teachers have used it for years.
Where the ECR costs you time
- Version drift. The workbook changes when policy changes, and the school year 2026–2027 brought big changes: three terms, the exam split into two summative tests and a term exam weighted 30/30/40, and an adjusted transmutation table. DO 15 directs DepEd to revise the electronic class record to match (Sec. 79a). Until your updated copy arrives, an old workbook computes old rules.
- One file per section per subject. Five sections and three subjects means fifteen workbooks to keep in sync.
- Copying between sheets. Learner names are typed or pasted into each file, and each copy is a chance for a misspelling that follows the learner onto the report card.
- Broken formulas. One overwritten formula cell quietly breaks every grade below it.
- Phone entry is painful. Scoring a quiz at the end of a period on a phone spreadsheet is slow.
What a good class record app should do
An app is only better if it gets the same answers as the rules. Test any app against these before you trust it with a term’s grades.
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Current rules | Three terms; 30/30/40 inside the exam component; the DO 15 weights; the adjusted transmutation table for SY 2026–2027 |
| Subject groups | Different weights for EPP/TLE and MAPEH; MAPEH as two halves averaged; senior high and Grade 12 handled separately |
| A worked example | DO 15’s own Science 6 example (Annex D, Table 5) should come out at a term grade of 88. If it does not, the app is wrong |
| Transparency | You can see the percentage score, weighted score, initial grade, and term grade for every learner |
| Export | A printable class record and report card you can check against the ECR |
| Privacy | No learner personal data sent to AI (DO 15, Sec. 37), and clear retention rules |
The Science 6 check takes two minutes and catches most apps that were built for the old rules. Our walkthrough of the MATATAG grading system and transmutation table shows the example step by step.
What DO 15 says about where grades live
Section 61 of DO 15 is the one to read before choosing. At the end of each term, teachers submit grades using official DepEd forms and digital systems. They keep supporting documents, including assessment tools, rubrics, raw scores, and feedback, for at least one school year. Digital records are stored in official DepEd systems, networks, or authorized drives, with access controlled, logged, and documented.
Read plainly, that means an app on your own account is a preparation tool, not your official store, unless your school authorizes it. That is not a reason to avoid apps. It is a reason to choose one that exports cleanly, so the official copy is easy to produce and easy to check.
A setup that uses both
- Record scores where it is fastest. For many teachers that is an app on the phone right after the quiz.
- Let the app compute. Percentage scores, weighted scores, transmutation, final grades.
- Check once per term. Compare a few learners against the ECR, or against a hand computation, before the report cards go out.
- Produce the official copy. Print or export the class record and report cards in the format your school requires, and file them where the school says.
- Keep the evidence. Tests, rubrics, and raw scores for at least one school year.
Where Skoolari fits
Skoolari’s DepEd mode was built around DO 15, s. 2026. The class record reproduces DO 15’s worked examples, handles Grades 2 to 10, GMRC and Values Education domains, the Strengthened SHS weights, and Grade 12 on DO 8 semesters, and prints in the ECR layout. The report card page builds the Learner’s Performance Report from your class records. A remediation watch lists learners below 75% in a component so you can start interventions early. No learner personal data is sent to AI. The official copy is still yours to keep where your school requires. See the plans.
Related reading: filling out the report card without errors, and our guide to student data privacy when using AI tools.
Related reading: how the DepEd school forms connect, and the term grading week checklist.