At the conclusion of each school year, students are promoted from one grade level to the next, assuming they meet the achievement standards set for that particular grade. Students are rated in every subject four times during the school year. A cumulative points system is typically used as the basis for promotion. To pass a grade, students must earn at least 75 points out of 100, or seventy-five percent.
During grades one and two in the Philippines, the language of instruction is generally the local dialect, of which there are over 170 nationally, of the region in which the children reside. English and Pilipino are taught as second languages. From third grade through sixth grade, or the remainder of primary education, subjects such as mathematics and science are taught in English, with the social sciences and humanities courses taught in Pilipino.
Once a student successfully completes each of the six grades of primary school, he or she is awarded a certificate of graduation from the school they attended. There is no leaving examination or entrance examination required for admission into the nation’s public secondary schools.