College Grading System Philippines Explained
Are you a Filipino student, a parent checking your child’s grades, or a boss reading a Philippine transcript? The College Grading System Philippines can feel tricky at first — and that’s totally okay!
The numbers work backwards compared to most countries. The passing mark might surprise you. And some schools like UP, UST, and DLSU follow their own special rules.
Don’t worry! This guide breaks down the College Grading System Philippines in a simple, easy way from the basic national scale to how top universities do things differently.
What Is the College Grading System in the Philippines?
The college grading system in the Philippines uses a numerical scale from 1.00 to 5.00. Here is the key rule that surprises most people:
- 1.00 is the highest grade (Excellent)
- 3.00 is the minimum passing grade
- 5.00 means Failed
When American administrators reformed Philippine education after 1898, elements of that ranking system stayed, creating the hybrid numerical scale used today.
CHED Standard Grading Scale (National Standard)
The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) is the government body that sets academic standards for colleges and universities in the Philippines. Below is the official CHED grade scale:
| Grade | Percentage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | 97–100% | 🏆 Excellent |
| 1.25 | 94–96% | 🌟 Excellent |
| 1.50 | 91–93% | ✨ Very Good |
| 1.75 | 88–90% | 💚 Very Good |
| 2.00 | 85–87% | 👍 Good |
| 2.25 | 82–84% | 👌 Good |
| 2.50 | 79–81% | 😊 Satisfactory |
| 2.75 | 76–78% | 🙂 Satisfactory |
| 3.00 | 75% | ✅ Passing |
| 4.00 | 65–74% | ⚠️ Conditional Failure |
| 5.00 | Below 65% | ❌ Failed |
| INC | — | 📋 Incomplete |
| W | — | 🚪 Withdrawn |
How Different Universities Grade Students
While CHED sets the national framework, many universities in the Philippines have their own variations. Here is a breakdown of the most common ones.
University of the Philippines (UP) System
| Grade Point | Letter | Percentage | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 | A+ | 99–100% | 🏆 Excellent |
| 1.25 | A | 96–98% | 🌟 Very Good |
| 1.50 | A− | 93–95% | ✨ Very Good |
| 1.75 | B+ | 90–92% | 💚 Good |
| 2.00 | B | 87–89% | 👍 Good |
| 2.25 | B− | 84–86% | 😊 Satisfactory |
| 2.50 | C+ | 81–83% | 🙂 Satisfactory |
| 2.75 | C | 78–80% | ✅ Pass |
| 3.00 | C− | 75–77% | 🎯 Pass |
| 5.00 | F | Below 60% | ❌ Fail |
University of Santo Tomas (UST)
UST follows a scale very close to the CHED standard, with 1.00 at the top and 5.00 as Failure. A grade of 3.00 covers the 75–78% range. UST also uses FA (Failure due to Absences) — a student who misses more than the allowed number of classes automatically fails, regardless of exam scores.
De La Salle University (DLSU)
DLSU does not use the 1.0–5.0 scale at all. It reports grades as direct percentage scores, with 60% as the passing mark. This is closer to the American system and can confuse people reading a DLSU transcript alongside one from a public university.
Ateneo de Manila University
Ateneo uses an alphabetic letter grade system (A, B+, B, C+, C, D, F) — similar to the North American convention. This is another reason why checking which institution issued a transcript matters before drawing conclusions.
Secondary School Grading
For context, the secondary school (high school) grading system in the Philippines uses a percentage scale rather than the 1.0–5.0 numerical system:
| Percentage | Description |
|---|---|
| 95–100% | 🏆 Excellent |
| 90–94% | 🌟 Very Good |
| 85–89% | 💚 Good |
| 80–84% | 😊 Satisfactory |
| 75–79% | 🙂 Fairly Satisfactory |
| Below 75% | 🆘 Needs Special Help |
What Is GWA and How Is It Computed?
GWA stands for General Weighted Average. It is the Philippine equivalent of GPA and represents a student’s overall academic performance across all subjects.
To compute your GWA:
- Multiply each subject’s grade by its number of units.
- Add all those products together.
- Divide by the total number of units taken.
GWA = 22.50 ÷ 12 = 1.875 (Strong academic record)
Latin Honors in Philippine Colleges
Philippine universities award Latin honors at graduation based on a student’s cumulative GWA:
Additional requirements typically include no grade of 4.00 or 5.00 on the record, a minimum number of units at the degree-granting institution, and no incomplete grades at graduation.
How Philippine Grades Convert for International Applications
The inverted scale often causes confusion when Filipino graduates apply abroad. Here is a general conversion guide:
| PH Grade | US GPA | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.00 – 1.50 | 3.80 – 4.00 | 🏆 Exceptional |
| 1.51 – 2.00 | 3.30 – 3.79 | 🌟 Very Good |
| 2.01 – 2.75 | 2.50 – 3.29 | 👍 Satisfactory to Good |
| 3.00 | ~2.00 | ✅ Minimum Passing |
| 5.00 | 0.00 | ❌ Failed |
Most US and Australian graduate programs require a transcript evaluation from a credential evaluation service like WES (World Education Services). UK universities generally accept the raw transcript with an explanation of the scale.
Read more: College Grade Equivalent
Common Grade Notations Across Philippine Universities
| INC | 📝 Incomplete |
| W / WP | 🚪 Withdrawn / Withdrew with Permission |
| WF | ❌ Withdrew without Permission (treated as Failure) |
| DRP | 🗂️ Dropped |
| FA / FDA | ⚠️ Failure due to Absences |
| NA | 👻 Never Appeared |
| IP | ⏳ In Progress |
