New law removes mandatory spiral progression in K-12 curriculum

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New law removes mandatory spiral progression in K-12 curriculum

MANILA, Philippines — The measure granting the Department of Education (DepEd) greater flexibility in determining the most effective method and practice of teaching for the basic education curriculum has become a law without President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s signature.

Republic Act No. 12332 lapsed into law on Aug. 2, a copy of which was uploaded on the Official Gazette website on Wednesday.

Under Section 27(1) of Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, a bill lapses into law if the President does not sign or veto it within 30 days after receiving it from Congress.

RA 12332 is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 1899 and House Bill No. 5939, which were passed by their respective chambers on May 5 and May 6. The enrolled bill was submitted to Malacañang on June 30.

The new law removes the legal requirement for public schools to use the “spiral progression” approach in teaching, giving the Department of Education (DepEd) greater flexibility in designing the K-12 curriculum.

RA 12332 amends Section 5 of RA 10533, or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013, which prescribes specific standards and principles for curriculum development.“The curriculum shall employ the approach deemed most effective by the DepEd to ensure mastery of knowledge and skills after each level,” RA 12332 states.

It also requires a comprehensive curriculum review every five years to ensure its relevance and effectiveness, following the DepEd’s systematic curriculum development process.

Under the spiral progression approach under the K-12 curriculum is a teaching method wherein students are taught concepts from the simplest to the more complicated.

It revisits key topics across Grades 7 to 10, with subjects building on previous lessons so students can gradually deepen their understanding and develop mastery of essential knowledge and skills.

Sen. Bam Aquino, who sponsored SBN 1899, said the legislation was backed by findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (Edcom 2), which concluded that the mandatory use of spiral progression had failed to produce the intended learning outcomes under the K-12 curriculum.

“Our intention is not to stop the use of spiral progression. Our schools and teachers can still use it. What the bill does is remove the legal requirement to follow this particular teaching method,” Aquino said in his privilege speech in March.

Edcom 2 has repeatedly recommended revisiting the teaching approach in its reports over the past three years.

In its 2024 report, the Edcom 2 said spiral progression had resulted in gaps in learners’ foundational knowledge and poor retention because “competencies are repeatedly taught across grade levels without meaningful progression.”

In its second year report, the commission also found that the centralized curriculum framework limited DepEd’s ability to adapt instruction to different learning environments, including the Alternative Learning System and Indigenous Peoples Education.

In its final report released in January, Edcom 2 said the mandated spiral progression approach had “failed to ensure the intended cumulative learning across grade levels.”

The commission also found that the framework forced teachers to become generalists rather than subject specialists, particularly in science and mathematics.

“This has led to congested instruction where learners ultimately fail to achieve true mastery of foundational knowledge and skills,” it said. /mr

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