If you’re teaching under the MATATAG curriculum, the way you compute grades has fundamentally changed — new components, new weights, three terms instead of four quarters, new descriptors, and a new transmutation table. This guide walks through the entire system from first principles: what each component means, the exact computation with two fully worked examples, the complete 41-row transmutation table you can keep beside your class record, and the errors that most commonly produce a wrong grade.
Note: This guide follows the official DepEd Electronic Class Record (ECR) workbook for MATATAG. Division memoranda occasionally add local adjustments — when in doubt, your division’s latest issuance wins.
A quick refresher: what is MATATAG?
MATATAG is DepEd’s recalibrated K-to-10 curriculum — a decongested revision of the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum that reduces the number of competencies per grade level so classes can teach fewer things more deeply. It rolled out in phases:
| School year | Grade levels under MATATAG |
|---|---|
| 2024–2025 | Kinder, Grades 1, 4, and 7 |
| 2025–2026 | + Grades 2, 5, and 8 |
| 2026–2027 | + Grades 3, 6, and 9 |
| 2027–2028 | + Grade 10 |
If your grade level has transitioned, the grading rules below apply to you. Grade levels still on the old curriculum continue using the previous 4-quarter system until their cohort shifts.
What changed in grading: old K-12 vs. MATATAG
| Old K-12 grading | MATATAG grading | |
|---|---|---|
| Grading periods | 4 quarters | 3 terms |
| Components | Written Works, Performance Tasks, Quarterly Assessment | WOW, PPT, STE (see below) |
| Core subject weights | 30 / 50 / 20 | 20 / 50 / 30 |
| Descriptors | Outstanding, Very Satisfactory, etc. | Advancing, Benchmarking, Connecting, Developing, Emerging |
| Transmutation | 60-based table | New 41-step table (below) |
| Passing grade | 75 | 75 (unchanged) |
The three components, explained
Every score you record falls into one of three components:
WOW — Written and Oral Works (20%). The day-to-day evidence of learning: quizzes, seatwork with written output, oral recitations, dialogues and oral reading, short written outputs. Frequent, low-stakes, formative-leaning.
PPT — Product/Performance Tasks (50–60%). The heart of MATATAG grading — projects, experiments, demonstrations, portfolios, performances, multimedia outputs. Notice the weight: in core subjects this is half the grade, and in EPP/TLE and MAPEH it’s 60%. MATATAG deliberately rewards what learners can do, not just what they can recall.
STE — Summative Tests and Term Examinations (20–30%). Your unit summative tests and the term exam. One critical mechanical detail: in the official ECR, a learner’s Initial Grade and Term Grade stay blank until at least one STE score is entered — which is the single most common “why is my grade not appearing?” question (more in the FAQ).
Component weights per learning area
| Learning area | WOW | PPT | STE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core subjects (Filipino, English, Math, Science, AP, GMRC/Values) | 20% | 50% | 30% |
| EPP / TLE | 20% | 60% | 20% |
| MAPEH (computed per half — see the MAPEH section) | 20% | 60% | 20% |
⚠️ Using the wrong weight profile is one of the most common computation errors. A Science record computed with TLE’s 20/60/20 will be wrong every single term.
The computation, step by step
For each component within a term:
- Total Score — add the learner’s raw scores for that component.
- Percentage Score (PS) = (Total Score ÷ Highest Possible Score) × 100, kept to 2 decimal places.
- Weighted Score (WS) = PS × the component’s weight.
Then combine:
- Initial Grade = WOW WS + PPT WS + STE WS. (Appears only once an STE score exists.)
- Term Grade = the Initial Grade converted through the transmutation table below.
- Final Grade = the average of the three Term Grades, rounded to a whole number — all three terms must be complete.
Worked example 1 — English (core subject, 20/50/30)
| Component | Learner’s total | HPS | PS | Weight | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written & Oral Works | 38 | 45 | 84.44 | 20% | 16.89 |
| Product/Performance Tasks | 41 | 50 | 82.00 | 50% | 41.00 |
| Summative Tests & Term Exam | 47 | 60 | 78.33 | 30% | 23.50 |
Initial Grade = 16.89 + 41.00 + 23.50 = 81.39
Term Grade (transmuted) = 83 → descriptor: Benchmarking
Worked example 2 — EPP/TLE (20/60/20)
Same learner, different subject — watch how the heavier PPT weight changes the math:
| Component | Learner’s total | HPS | PS | Weight | WS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Written & Oral Works | 27 | 30 | 90.00 | 20% | 18.00 |
| Product/Performance Tasks | 52 | 65 | 80.00 | 60% | 48.00 |
| Summative Tests & Term Exam | 33 | 40 | 82.50 | 20% | 16.50 |
Initial Grade = 18.00 + 48.00 + 16.50 = 82.50
Term Grade (transmuted) = 84 → descriptor: Benchmarking
📥 Free download: Printable MATATAG Transmutation Table (PDF) — one page, ready for your class record folder.
The complete MATATAG transmutation table
Find the learner’s Initial Grade in the left column; the transmuted Term Grade is on the right.
| Initial Grade | Transmuted | Initial Grade | Transmuted | Initial Grade | Transmuted | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 39.99 | 60 | 68 – 69.99 | 74 | 86 – 86.99 | 88 | ||
| 40 – 42.99 | 61 | 70 – 72.99 | 75 | 87 – 87.99 | 89 | ||
| 43 – 45.99 | 62 | 73 – 74.99 | 76 | 88 – 88.99 | 90 | ||
| 46 – 47.99 | 63 | 75 – 75.99 | 77 | 89 – 89.99 | 91 | ||
| 48 – 49.99 | 64 | 76 – 76.99 | 78 | 90 – 90.99 | 92 | ||
| 50 – 51.99 | 65 | 77 – 77.99 | 79 | 91 – 91.99 | 93 | ||
| 52 – 53.99 | 66 | 78 – 78.99 | 80 | 92 – 92.99 | 94 | ||
| 54 – 55.99 | 67 | 79 – 79.99 | 81 | 93 – 93.99 | 95 | ||
| 56 – 57.99 | 68 | 80 – 80.99 | 82 | 94 – 94.99 | 96 | ||
| 58 – 59.99 | 69 | 81 – 81.99 | 83 | 95 – 95.99 | 97 | ||
| 60 – 61.99 | 70 | 82 – 82.99 | 84 | 96 – 97.49 | 98 | ||
| 62 – 63.99 | 71 | 83 – 83.99 | 85 | 97.5 – 99.49 | 99 | ||
| 64 – 65.99 | 72 | 84 – 84.99 | 86 | 99.5 – 100 | 100 | ||
| 66 – 67.99 | 73 | 85 – 85.99 | 87 |
Notice two things teachers often miss: the floor is 60 (no transmuted grade goes lower, no matter the Initial Grade), and the steps are not uniform — between 70 and 80 the bands narrow to single points, so a small Initial-Grade difference there moves the Term Grade more than the same difference elsewhere.
Descriptors and remarks
| Term/Final grade | Descriptor | Meaning | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 – 100 | Advancing | Exceeds expectations of the standard | Passed |
| 80 – 89 | Benchmarking | Meets the standard well | Passed |
| 75 – 79 | Connecting | Meets the minimum standard | Passed |
| 65 – 74 | Developing | Approaching the standard — needs support | Failed |
| Below 65 | Emerging | Beginning — needs significant intervention | Failed |
The passing mark remains 75. Descriptors attach to Term Grades and the Final Grade — they’re what parents see on report cards, so it’s worth learning to “speak” them fluently in conferences.
The MAPEH special case
MAPEH is the one subject computed differently: it’s two half-subjects — Music & Arts and PE & Health — each computed separately with the 20/60/20 weights and each transmuted on its own, and only then averaged:
MAPEH Term Grade = round( (MA Term Grade + PEH Term Grade) ÷ 2 )
The order matters — transmute first, then average. Averaging the Initial Grades before transmuting can give a different (wrong) result. The full walkthrough with a worked example is in our MAPEH grade computation guide.
From term grades to the final grade
- Final Grade per subject = average of Term 1, Term 2, and Term 3 grades, rounded to a whole number.
- All three terms must have grades — the ECR leaves the Final Grade blank if any term is missing.
- The Final Grade carries the descriptor from the table above, and 75 is the promotion floor per subject.
The 7 most common computation errors
- No STE score entered → Initial and Term Grades appear “broken” (blank). They’re not broken — the workbook is waiting for a Summative Test score.
- Wrong weight profile — applying 20/50/30 to TLE or 20/60/20 to Science.
- MAPEH averaged before transmuting — transmute each half first, then average.
- Rounding the PS to whole numbers — PS and WS keep 2 decimals; only the Final Grade is rounded.
- Reading the transmutation table loosely — 80.99 transmutes to 82, but 81.00 transmutes to 83. The band edges matter; use the exact ranges.
- Still using the old WW/PT/QA structure — quarterly-assessment columns don’t exist anymore; summative tests and the term exam live together in STE.
- Manual lookup fatigue — after the 30th learner, eyes skip a row in the table. (This is exactly the kind of error software never makes.)
Tips for a clean class record, term by term
- Record the HPS at the moment you give each activity — reconstructing highest possible scores at term-end is where inconsistencies creep in.
- Keep your roster in the male/female, alphabetical convention from day one; every DepEd form expects it.
- After each summative test, run a quick item analysis — failed items are sometimes the test’s fault, and catching that before finalizing grades is fairer to learners.
- Mas komportable sa Filipino? Basahin ang aming Tagalog na gabay sa MATATAG grading.
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Initial Grade blank in my ECR?
No score has been entered in the Summative Tests/Term Exam column yet. The official workbook computes the Initial and Term Grade only after at least one STE entry exists.
Do I round the PS or only the final grade?
PS and WS are kept at 2 decimal places throughout. Only the Final Grade — the average of the three term grades — is rounded to a whole number.
Is 60 really the lowest possible grade?
On the transmuted scale, yes — any Initial Grade below 40 still transmutes to 60. That’s a deliberate floor in the official table.
Where do quizzes go — WOW or STE?
Regular quizzes are Written and Oral Works. STE is reserved for summative tests (end-of-unit) and the term examination.
How is MAPEH different?
Two halves (Music & Arts, PE & Health), each computed and transmuted separately at 20/60/20, then averaged and rounded — see the MAPEH section above.
Can my school adjust the weights?
The component weights come from the official ECR per learning area. Any local variation should come from a written division memo — not from habit or hearsay.
Compute all of this automatically
Skoolari’s DepEd mode is a MATATAG class record that performs this entire computation for you — enter per-item scores and it handles PS, WS, the transmutation lookup, descriptors, MAPEH’s two halves, and the final grade, in the official ECR format, exportable to Excel. It also generates MELC-aligned assessments from your own materials and auto-checks photographed answer sheets.