,§~rltth> 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
) 
) 
<Off';r uf HfI! ~?frpbr~ 
First Regular Session 
"13 
~UG 22 P 5 :14 
SENAI351 
S.No. ___ _ 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 14, Section 2 (1) mandates that the State shall: 
SEC. 2 (I). Establish, maintain, and support a complete, adequate, and 
integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the people and society. 
In order to effectively implement educational reforms, we need to be.able to establish a 
system of evaluation that would accurately measure the performance of our students. In such 
program, we need the assistance of the local government units to be able to focus efforts on the 
students as grouped geographically thus removing the possible inefficiencies of coordinating a 
I i j ~ i h I, i jj :i.l 
massive scale study and allow the generation of benchmark information from successful 
programs, which can be used by the less successful ones. 
By establishing a system of grant to fund efforts to determine the best performance 
evaluation for students, we would be able to secure the assistance of the academe in preparing 
the groundwork towards the formulation of a continuing national evaluation program that makes 
use of the current measures of performance. 
This bill seeks to mandate the Department of Education to work with the local 
government units towards the development of evaluation programs for our students.' 
I 
• This bill was originally filed in the Fourteenth Congress, Second Regular Session. 
I 
<'<' , 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SEN~Wr:-l 
S. No. 
IJ<J 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
1 
AN ACT 
'semdr 
(0Hf~f (If lift" ~~ifn.,tat\l 
'13 
AUIJ 22 P 5 :14 
2 
TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF CLASSROOM LEARNING BY EMPOWERING LOCAL 
3 
GOVERNMENT UNITS TO DEVELOP PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENTS THAT 
4 
MEASURE HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
5 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Improving Classroom 
6 
Learning and Student Performance Act." 
7 
SECTION 2. Definition of TermS'.' ~ In this Act, the term -
8 
A. 
PERFORMANCE-BASED ASSESSMENT means assessments that evaluate 
9 
applications of knowledge to real-world tasks. Such assessments are designed to measnre higher 
10 
order thinking and performance skills. 
11 
B. 
HIGHER ORDER THINKING AND PERFORMANCE SKILLS means the 
12 
abilities to--
13 
1. frame and solve problems; 
14 
2. find, evaluate, analyze, and synthesize information; 
15 
3. apply knowledge to new problems or situations; 
16 
4. develop and test complex ideas; and 
17 
5. communicate ideas or solutions proficiently in oral or written form. 
18 
C. 
MULTIPLE MEASURES means different sonrces of evidence of student learning 
19 
in a subject or across subject areas. Such sonrces of evidence provide multiple opportunities to 
20 
demonstrate achievement, are accessible to students at varying levels of proficiency, and utilize 
21 
different methods for demonstrating achievement. 
22 
D. 
LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS means cities, municipalities, and provinces. 
1 


I 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
SECTION 3. Purposes - The purposes ofthis Act are as follows: 
A. 
To empower local government units to develop assessment systems that-
I. are aligned with student learning standards; 
2. provide multiple measures of student learning, including performance 
assessments that assess higher order thinking and performance skills; 
3. include local assessments that provide timely, diagnostic information about 
student learning; 
4. are consistent with nationally recognized professional standards for test 
construction and test use, including standards of fairness, reliability, and 
validity; 
5. employ principles of universal design and use appropriately designed 
assessments and accommodations for special populations and English 
language learners; and 
6. are used for purposes·fdfwliich they are valid and reliable. 
B. 
To ensure that local assessments include common assessments developed for use 
at the school or district level, and classroom-based evidence obtained from curriculum-embedded 
assessments. Such assessments may be used in the local government unit's assessment system 
18 
when they-
19 
I. assess student learning in light of content standards, including higher order 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
thinking and performance skills; 
2. meet technical requirements of validity and reliability; 
3. are fair and unbiased; 
4. include multiple sources of evidence about student learning; and 
5. can be used to demonstrate student progress toward and attainment of 
proficiency. 
26 
SECTION 4. Program Established. - The Secretary shal1 award graJ;lts to govemment-
27 
funded educational agencies that demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Secretary, based on peer 
28 
review, that the requirements of this Act will be met, to--
2 


I 
A. 
enable local government units (or consortia of local government units) to 
2 
collaborate with institutions of higher education, other research institutions, or other 
3 
organizations to improve the quality, validity, and reliability oflocal academic assessments; 
4 
B. 
enable local government units to develop the capacity of local education agencies 
5 
to validly and reliably assess student academic achievement using multiple sources of evidence, 
6 
including school-based performance assessments; and 
7 
C. 
enable local government units and local school districts to develop the capacity of 
8 
teachers and school leaders to develop, use, and reliably evaluate the results of locally-
9 
administered performance assessments. 
10 
Each grant under this section shall be for a period of not more than five (5) years. 
II 
SECTION 5. Technical Assistance. - Each local government unit receiving a grant under 
12 
this Act shall allocate at least five (5) percent of the grant for technical assistance. The local 
13 
government unit shall use that allocation to 'work with universities or other non-profit research 
14 
organizations that have expertise in performance assessments for assistance in the development, 
15 
implementation, evaluation, and improvement of local performance assessment systems. The 
16 
universities and non-profit research organizations shall use the amounts to develop tools local 
17 
government units can use, such as various methods for weighting indicators used in the 
18 
assessment and improvement system or means for evaluating assessments systems and the 
19 
consequences of their use. 
20 
SECTION 6. Allowable Uses. - A grant under this Act may be used for: 
21 
A. 
developing, piloting, and validating performance assessments that are or will be 
22 
incorporated into their assessment systems; 
23 
24 
B. 
C. 
training teachers and school leaders to score such assessments; and 
developing and testing systems for auditing or moderating the scoring process to 
25 
ensure reliability and validity of such assessments. 
3 


1 
SECTION 7. Subgrant. - The local government unit may, pursuant to criteria established 
2 
by it, make sub grants to local educational agencies or schools to-
3 
A. 
develop and implement local performance assessments; and 
4 
B. 
train teachers and school leaders to score and use such assessments for tracking 
5 
student progress and for guiding curriculum and instruction. 
6 
SECTION 8. Formative Assessments. -
A local government unit, local educational 
7 
agency, or school may use funds under this Act to support the development and implementation 
8 
of formative assessments that are performance-based and that enable schools to provide detailed 
9 
feedback to students and teachers to enable them to improve their learning and teaching. 
10 
SECTION 9. Other Uses. - A local government unit may retain a portion of the grant 
11 
amounts to-
12 
A. 
develop integrated local assessment systems that incorporate and weigh multiple 
13 
measures, including the results of periodic standardized tests and local performance assessments; 
14 
B. 
collaborate with other local government units in sharing knowledge on the 
15 
development and use of such systems and their assessment components; 
16 
C. 
provide assistance to local educational agencies and schools in developing and 
17 
implementing their assessments; or 
18 
D. 
evaluate the local assessments. 
19 
SECTION 10. Requirements. - Any local government unit that receives funds under this 
20 
Act shall meet the following requirements: 
21 
A. 
Ensure that high-quality professional development is available for educators to 
22 
help develop and learn to use and score the assessments. 
""" 
l .,.", 
23 
B. 
Develop means to ensure that provincial and local assessments are aligned to 
24 
learning standards, meet professional assessment standards, are unbiased, valid for the purposes 
25 
for which they will be used, and are scored reliably. These means shall include mechanisms for 
4 


, ' 
1 
training scorers and providing a process of expert reView, auditing, or moderation to ensure the 
2 
integrity of the scoring process. 
3 
SECTION 11. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
4 
is necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. 
5 
6 
SECTION 12. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
7 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
8 
valid and subsisting. 
9 
SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
10 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
11 
with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
12 
SECTION 15. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
13 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
5