House panel approves groundbreaking ‘ladderized’ K-12 method
MANILA, Philippines —The “ladderized approach” bill in the Kinder to Grade 12 (K to 12) curriculum has made it through the committee level at the House of Representatives.
A statement on Wednesday said the House committee on basic education and culture had approved House Bill No. 238 on Tuesday.
The proposed law is intended to boost the K–12 curriculum by introducing a “ladderized approach” instead of the spiral progression approach outlined in Republic Act No. 10533, also known as the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013.
Although spiral progression starts with basic facts, ladderized learning ensures mastery of the concepts and skills at each level. In addition, it can identify students’ weakest points more accurately this way.
The bill, authored by Caloocan City Rep. Mary Mitzi Cajayon-Uy, proposes keeping the progressive spiral approach in Grades 1 to 6 while switching to the ladderized process in Grades 7 to 12.
The bill also proposes the formation of a Teacher Education and Training Committee (TETC) to improve teacher recruitment and training.
With this, TETC is set to establish the minimum criteria for hiring and evaluating new and current teachers.
The Department of Education (DepEd) will revise the K-12 curriculum found to be “congested” by Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte in her report during the Basic Education Report 2023.
Among the revisions is to reduce the number of learning areas in kindergarten to third grade from seven areas to five.
