The Department of Education as the leading agency in uplifting the Educational system in our country, give its best to achieve in every students. The DepEd has never stopped in order to attain its objective towards quality education as mandated in Article XIV, Section 1 of the 1987 Constitution which states that “ The State shall protect the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels and shall take appropriate steps to make sure such education is accessible to all”. The Educational system is part of the State apparatus with defined objectives, structure, and delivery system. The State does not intend to provide more education or even education for education’s sake. The State clearly endeavors to provide quality education for all citizens, the people and society. Thus, the social, economic and cultural rights of all citizens to quality education are recognized.
In our country, the National Educational Testing and Research Center (NETRC) leads in research, evaluation and assessment of the effectiveness of education which provide information vital of the formulation of educational policies geared towards the realization of an empowered and globally competitive Filipino. One of the key programs is the National Achievement Test or NAT that is given annually in March to assess the knowledge, skills and competency of students in Elementary and Secondary both public and private. The NAT used to be called the National Elementary Achievement Test (NEAT) for the grade school level and the National Secondary Achievement Test (NSAT) for the High School level. Both NEAT and NSAT were precursors of the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) , use to gauge the competency of students entering college. In 1994 through Executive Order No.632, the NCEE was abolished by then Education Secretary Raul Roco, this is to give chance to all High school students to enter college.
When DECS was officially converted to DepEd, NEAT and NSAT were abolished and replaced by the National Achievement Test or NAT. The annual NAT is used to determine what the students know, understand and can do at their level. NAT for Grade Three includes Grammar and Reading Comprehension in English and Filipino, Science and Mathematics. National Achievement Test for Grade Six focuses on five basic subjects, namely, Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino and HEKASI. On the other hand, Social Studies or AralingPanlipunan is one of the subjects taken by students as part of the National Achievement Test for Sophomore students in the fourth year High School aside from Mathematics, Science, English and Filipino.
By: Joan J. Quiroz | Master Teacher I | Lamao National High School | Limay, Bataan
