Dear Parent, 

As the parent of an independent homeschooler, your child will have to take the Philippine Educational Placement Test (PEPT) prior to re-entry into the formal school system or as way for you to validate your child's yearly learning progress and level of competency for his or her age and grade level based on the learning competencies required by the DepEd K-12 curriculum. 

Please read this guide to find out more about the PEPT. If you have any questions please feel free to email us at happyhomeschool@vibalgroup.com.

What is the PEPT? 

The PEPT, or the Philippine Educational Placement Test, is an exam given by the Department of Education, through the Bureau of Education Assessment, to see if homeschooled children or out-of-school youth have the skills needed to enter formal schooling at a certain level.

PEPT is under the Accreditation and Equivalency Program (Executive Order No. 733, s. 1981) for retrieving homeschooled children or out-of-school youth and assessing if they have the skills needed to enter formal schooling at a certain level. It is an equivalency test wherein learning experiences gained out of school are given equivalency and placement in the formal school system by grade level that is appropriate for the examinee’s age and ability.

This test has ten (10) levels, corresponding to each grade level below Senior High. To be considered for any college, a homeschooled child has to pass the Grade 10 PEPT and finish Senior High in any DepEd-accredited school. SHS students can no longer be homeschooled. The PEPT results only cover up to Grade 10 equivalency. 

Who may take the PEPT? 

All learners outside the formal school system, who wish to either enter/re-enter, or apply for Senior High School, need to take the PEPT to see if they have the competencies needed for a certain grade level.

When is the PEPT usually conducted? 

The Bureau of Education Assessment (BEA), under DepEd, administers the PEPT every November. The exam is given in regional testing centers all over the country. However, Metro Manila examinees can take the test in the Bureau’s office inside the DepEd Complex, located in Pasig.However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the change of school opening to August 24, the PEPT for 2020 and 2021 may also be rescheduled by DepEd.

How are PEPT examinees screened? 

Test applicants are screened based on their age and last level completed (LLC).

Age 

Applicants must be at least one year overage for their supposed grade level in the formal school system as displayed in the table below:

Grade level passed	Normal age (end of SY)	Age on exam date	Grade level to be tested at starting level
None	N/A	At least 6 years old	Kinder
Kinder	6 years old	At least 7 years old	Grade 1
Grade 1	7 yeas old	At least 8 years old	Grade 2
Grade 2	8 years old	At least 9 years old	Grade 3
Grade 3	9 years old	At least 10 years old	Grade 4
Grade 4	10 years old	At least 11 years old	Grade 5
Grade 5`	11 years old	At least 12 years old	Grade 6
Grade 6	12 years old	At least 13 years old	Grade 7
Grade 7	13 years old	At least 14 years old	Grade 8
Grade 8	14 years old	At least 15 years old	Grade 9
Grade 9	15 years old	At least 16 years old	Grade 10

 

Last level completed (LLC) 

The LLC is the grade level finished by a test registrant in school. In the secondary level, all subjects must have a passing mark including back subjects (if there were) in previous levels as noted in Form 137. There should be no pending subject grade in the level in order for it to be considered as the LLC of the registrant. 

Is the test administered based on the examinee's age and LLC? 

Yes. Each examinee is assigned to answer a particular set of test items in the Test Booklet according to his/her age and LLC.

Example #1: a 12-year-old PEPT registrant whose LLC is Grade 2 will be given test items for Grades 3 to 6 on exam day.

Example #2: Example #2: a 16-year-old registrant whose LLC is Grade 9 will be given test items for Grade 10 on exam day.

Examinees will have different test time allotments depending on their age and LLC.

What is the PEPT's coverage? 

The exam's coverage is based on DepEd's K-12 curriculum. 

Elementary: Science, Math, Araling Panlipunan, Filipino, English

Secondary:

English -Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary Development, Writing Composition, Literature (Philippine, Asian and World), Grammar Awareness

Science - General Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

Math - Numbers and Number Sense, Measurement, Geometry, Patterns and Algebra, Statistics and Probability

Filipino - Gramatika, Panitikan (Ibong Adarna, Florante at Laura, Noli Me Tangere, El Filibusterismo)

 Araling Panlipunan - Araling Asyano, Kasaysayan ng Daigdig, Ekonomiks

How are PEPT's results distributed? 

A PEPT Certificate of Rating (COR) is issued to each individual examinee. The examinee needs to pass all subjects to be accredited to a specific grade level.

Examinees must obtain a rating of at least 75% in all subject areas in one grade level in order to pass it. If they obtain a passing rate in all subjects, they are considered as a qualifier in the said level. They may pass as many levels with their age as ceiling, meaning they may qualify only up to the school level appropriate for their age. Averaging of subject area scores is not the rating system of PEPT.