TL;DR: ADM stands for Alternative Delivery Mode. DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019 defines it as an instructional or learning modality that does not follow the typical classroom set-up but follows the formal K to 12 curriculum in content, and lists five: Home School, IMPACT, MISOSA, Night High School and the Open High School Program. ADM is one of two Flexible Learning Options; the other is the Alternative Learning System, which is different because it runs a non-formal curriculum. The label itself was fixed by DepEd Order No. 54, s. 2012, which also created the funding facility for it. ADM is not a synonym for pandemic-era modular learning.
If you have seen ADM in a school memo or a division report and wanted a plain definition, this is it, taken from the issuances rather than from usage. The term is used loosely in conversation, which is why it is worth pinning to what DepEd actually wrote.
What does ADM stand for in DepEd?
ADM stands for Alternative Delivery Mode, which DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019 defines as an instructional or learning modality that does not strictly follow the typical set-up for regular classroom instruction but follows the formal K to 12 curriculum in content. Two issuances do the work: DO 54, s. 2012 fixed the term, and DO 21, s. 2019 carries the current description.
DepEd Order No. 54, s. 2012, the Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of Alternative Delivery Modes, settled the terminology. It states that for purposes of clarity and consistency, all alternative modes of delivering education services within the frame of the formal education system shall be referred to as Alternative Delivery Mode or ADM. The enclosure describes ADMs as tried and tested alternative modalities of education delivery within the confines of the formal system that allow schools to deliver quality education to marginalised students and those at risk of dropping out, so that they can overcome personal, social and economic constraints in their schooling. The order also created the funding side, following the approval of a separate ADM funding facility in the General Appropriations Act starting FY 2011.
DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019, the Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic Education Program, carries the current description in Annex 3, Flexible Learning Options, where formal curriculum means the curriculum from Kindergarten through Grade 12 that learners undergo through successive grade levels.
The two phrases that carry the meaning are does not strictly follow the typical set-up and follows the formal K to 12 curriculum in content. An ADM changes how instruction reaches the learner; it does not change what the learner is expected to learn.
Our explainer on what a DepEd Order is covers how to tell which of two orders on the same topic is doing the operative work.
What is the difference between ADM and ALS?
ADM and ALS differ in curriculum: under DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019, Alternative Delivery Modes follow the formal K to 12 curriculum, while the Alternative Learning System uses the non-formal ALS K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum organised into six learning strands rather than grade levels. Annex 3 of that order lists the two as the main categories of Flexible Learning Options, a menu of learning interventions and pathways responsive to the needs, context, circumstances and diversity of learners.
| ADM | ALS | |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | Formal K to 12 curriculum | Non-formal ALS K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum |
| Structure | Grade levels, Kindergarten to Grade 12 | Six learning strands and learning stages |
| Learner status | Enrolled in a school, progressing by grade level | Enrolled in a programme or community learning centre |
| Typical use | A learner who cannot attend in the normal way | A learner outside the formal school system |
The ALS curriculum was aligned to the formal one and expanded from 776 learning competencies to 2,046 in the process, with competencies lifted from the formal curriculum carrying two codes. It remains a different curriculum with a different structure. Our Alternative Learning System guide covers that side in full.
What can be flexible in an ADM?
DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019 is specific about what varies in an Alternative Delivery Mode: the time and duration of instruction, the place of instruction, or the method of instruction. It then names three delivery methods:
- Face-to-face, where teacher and learners are physically in one venue during lessons
- Distance, where the learner is given materials or access to resources and undertakes self-directed study at home or another venue
- Blended, a combination of the two
The learning resources are the same K to 12 resources, except that distance or blended delivery may require materials designed for independent or self-paced study, which may be modules made available through ICT or other technological tools.
ADM is not another name for the self-learning modules used during the pandemic. Because those modules became ubiquitous during a particular period, many people now use ADM to mean printed modules. That is not what the term denotes. Modules are a resource format; ADM is a category of programme, and DepEd enumerates which programmes belong to it.
What are the five ADMs DepEd offers?
Annex 3 of DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019 enumerates five Alternative Delivery Modes: Home School; IMPACT, or Instructional Management by Parents, Community, and Teachers; MISOSA, the Modified In-School Off-School Approach; Night High School; and the Open High School Program.
| ADM | What it is | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Home School | Formal education in a home-based setting, with parents, guardians or tutors as learning facilitators, under DepEd supervision | Learners unable to attend school who have someone capable of delivering instruction |
| IMPACT | Multi-grade learners grouped into learning families, learning facilitated by peers, parents or community members under an instructional supervisor, with room for independent learning | Learners in congested schools with community volunteers available |
| MISOSA | Grades 4 to 6 learners split into in-school and off-school groups that swap periodically, meeting together for assessment and enrichment | Learners in overpopulated schools, and learners unable to attend regularly for economic, physical or social reasons |
| Night High School | Classes after regular school hours, allowing completion beyond the prescribed number of years | High school learners of legal age who are working |
| Open High School Program | Independent, self-paced distance secondary education with periodic consultation | High school learners capable of independent learning who cannot go or stay in school |
Home School
Home School learners enrol through a public school, or through a private school holding a permit to offer a home school programme. That school is responsible for ensuring a parent or guardian is assigned as learning facilitator, that the learner is registered through the Learner Information System, that learning materials are available, and that School Form 9 and other records are issued. Learners may alternatively enrol through home school providers, which arrange LIS registration either through a DepEd accredited partner school or by coordinating with the Schools Division Office. Our homeschooling requirements guide goes through the paperwork side in detail.
IMPACT
IMPACT, or Instructional Management by Parents, Community, and Teachers, was developed with SEAMEO INNOTECH in the early 1970s and is available in the Philippines for elementary schools only. Schools group learners across grade levels into learning families of 50 to 60, ideally placing siblings, neighbours and friends together, with teachers acting as instructional supervisors over one or two families. Three delivery modes operate inside it: Programmed Teaching for Grades 1 to 3, where trained Grades 4 to 6 learners present prepared lessons; Peer Group Learning for Grades 4 to 6, in groups of five or six of varying assessed levels; and Self-Instruction, an hour a day of independent work or, for learners who cannot report regularly, study of modules outside school.
MISOSA
MISOSA, the Modified In-School Off-School Approach, runs in Grades 4, 5 and 6 classes with at least 50 learners. One group is in school with the regular teachers while the other works independently at a nearby location or online with a para-teacher or learning facilitator, and the groups switch periodically by agreement, coming together for assessment and enrichment. Because independent learning requires functional literacy, learners first take the Informal Reading Inventory and other school-based assessments; those found not yet capable of independent learning stay in the in-school group. Schools also orient parents and guardians of off-school learners on goals, schedules, venues and expectations.
Night High School
Night High School is aimed at high school learners of legal age who are working. Implementing secondary schools submit a night class programme to the Schools Division Office. Classes begin no earlier than 4:30 in the afternoon and end no later than 9:30 in the evening, and may include Saturday classes. Technology and Livelihood Education competencies may be completed in the learner's workplace, subject to supervision and evaluation by the TLE teacher and the partner employer. The programme traces to DECS Order No. 88, s. 1997.
Open High School Program
The Open High School Program is for learners who cannot start or complete secondary education because of limited time, geographical inaccessibility, physical impairment, financial difficulty, or social or family problems. Entry is through the Independent Learning Readiness Test and the Informal Reading Inventory. Qualified learners report weekly during the first semester, reducing to monthly consultation later in the year depending on readiness, with a teacher-adviser and subject teachers assigned. The programme traces to DO 46, s. 2006.
Which schools can offer an ADM?
Under DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019, every public elementary and secondary school should be ready to offer ADMs, and a private school needs a permit from its Regional Office.
- Public schools. All public elementary and secondary schools should be ready to offer ADMs for all types of learners whenever the need arises, and are required to inform their Schools Division Office by letter to the Schools Division Superintendent every time the school offers a new ADM.
- Private schools. Allowed to offer ADMs after securing a permit from their Regional Office. Requirements include a letter of intent addressed to the Regional Director through the Schools Division Superintendent, and an implementation plan describing target learners, the training plan for parents and the learning resources. A school coordinator must be identified for every ADM offered.
DO 54, s. 2012 left the choice of modality to the division. It provides that the kind of modality implemented in each division is determined by the schools division superintendent, to allow flexibility in the use of funds, and that priority goes to divisions with congested schools running double or triple shifts, large numbers of incomplete schools, and a high incidence of dropouts. Our guide to the Schools Division Office explains what a division decides and what it does not.
Two Cautions Before You Rely on the Durations
The programme durations in Annex 3 of DepEd Order No. 21, s. 2019 for Night High School and the Open High School Program were written against the Senior High structure in force in 2019. Senior High has since been restructured by DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026, which sets its own subject and hour requirements. Confirm with your Schools Division Office how a secondary ADM is programmed under the current curriculum rather than assuming the 2019 figures still map cleanly.
Availability of an ADM is also a local matter. Not every division runs every ADM, and a school offering one is not obliged to offer the others. The national policy establishes what may be offered and under what conditions; whether it is running in your area this school year is a question for your school head or division office.
Disclaimer: this is an explainer, not an application portal. SchoolFinderPH does not process ADM enrolment or issue permits. Applications, forms and schedules go through your school and your Schools Division Office, and the official issuances are linked below.
Sources
- DepEd — DO 021, s. 2019, Policy Guidelines on the K to 12 Basic Education Program (official PDF, Annex 3)
- DepEd — DO 54, s. 2012, Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of Alternative Delivery Modes (official)
- DepEd — DO 017, s. 2026, Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum (official)
- DepEd — Alternative Learning System programme page
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