DepEd clarifies ‘supposed cancellation’ of NAT 12

In a statement Thursday, DepEd said an advisory issued by Curriculum and Instruction Undersecretary Lorna Dino on April 5 stated that “the Schools Division Superintendents shall decide on the dates of the test administration once the test materials have been delivered to the respective Division offices of sampled schools.” (Wikipedia Photo)

MANILA — The Department of Education (DepEd) clarified that the administration dates of the National Achievement Test for Grade 12 completers (NAT 12) will differ per school division.

DepEd made the statement in response to reports and speculations that it supposedly announced the cancellation of NAT 12 on April 12 and 13.

In a statement Thursday, DepEd said an advisory issued by Curriculum and Instruction Undersecretary Lorna Dino on April 5 stated that “the Schools Division Superintendents shall decide on the dates of the test administration once the test materials have been delivered to the respective Division offices of sampled schools.”

In a press conference last March 26, Dino announced that NAT 12 will be conducted among “randomly selected schools tentatively scheduled to begin on April 12.”

Earlier, there had been posts in social media accounts of students and schools about advisories supposedly saying NAT 12 cancellation.

NAT 12 is one of two assessment tests that the DepEd planned to conduct this summer.

The other is the Basic Education Exit Assessment (BEEA) scheduled in May.

It aims to evaluate the system of implementation of the K to 12 program, as well as assess what Grade 12 completers have learned, but not with a “pass or fail” standard.