By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
The Department of Education (DepEd) will conduct an investigation and "impose sanctions" in view of the photos of test items and improperly shaded answer sheets posted on social media by students who took the Basic Education Exit Assessment (BEEA) for School Year (SY) 2018-2019.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
In a statement, DepEd said that the probe will be conducted by its Bureau of Education Assessment (BEA) through the Schools Division Offices (SDOs). Last February 13 and 14, an estimated 1.4 million Grade 12 learners in all public and private schools nationwide took BEEA for SY 2018-2019. Soon after, photos of test items that were not shaded or answered properly went viral.
DepEd furthermore reiterated that under Section 13 (Breach of Security in National Examinations and Corresponding Sanctions) of DepEd Order No. 55, series 2016 (Policy Guidelines on the National Assessment of Student Learning for the K to 12 Basic Education Program), "the security and integrity of test materials shall be upheld in the whole process of the test administration."
“Included in the violations strictly prohibited by the Order are the capturing of test items through electronic gadgets, and the distribution and posting of photos of the test booklet in any form of media,” DepEd said.
The BEEA covered the 21st century learning skills and the core Senior High School (SHS) learning areas of Languages, Humanities, Communication, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, and Philosophy. Specifically, the BEEA aims to enable the Department to “determine if the learners are meeting the learning standards;” “help provide information to improve instructional practices; assess/evaluate effectiveness and efficiency of education service delivery using learning outcomes as indicators;” and “provide empirical information as bases for curriculum, learning delivery assessment and policy reviews, and policy formulation.”
DepEd said that the results of BEEA shall be “presented in terms of proficiency levels with a corresponding percentage score.” The results, which will be released in April, shall be “reflected on individual Certificate of Rating (COR)” to be released through the SDOs.