In the middle of raging disputes against the K to 12 program, the Department of Education (DepEd) initiated an exit assessment called Basic Education Exit Assessment (BEEA) among Grade 12 students in different strands such as ABM, HUMMMS, STEM, Industrial Arts, Home Economics, and ICT on February 13 to 14.
Complying with this mandate, Dr. Renato E. Salcedo, Pangasinan State University Senior High School (PSU-SHS) Principal and University K-12 Focal Person, supervised the conduct of the said assessment in the campus with 667 Senior High School examinees occupying College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Legacy building (LB), Education Room (ER), and Academic building (AB) of the University.
According to Dr. Salcedo, the main purpose of the said exit examination is to provide data to determine whether the SHS Grade 12 students have achieved the competencies set in their core and applied track subjects for the two years of additional span they stayed in High School.
Students were advised to take the exit assessment with sincerity even if it would not anymore affect their grades. Unlike other forms of assessments as to entrance exam where one cannot be accepted in the program upon failure, this exit assessment will not yield them consequences technically but would affect the next batches of the program.
The result of the said exit examination is yet to be ascertained for records and baseline purposes of the program.
Moreover, this assessment will serve as a reflection not only by DepEd and its teachers but most importantly by students since the present and the coming years are crucial to the evaluation of the program.
Otherwise, if the exit assessment yielded an undesirable outcome, DepEd in coordination with all the Universities and schools holding the program will be envisioned to revise and/ or update the K to 12 curriculum until it renders the students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need and addresses the areas of their weaknesses.