TL;DR: In Philippine public basic education a summer class is remediation, not advancement. For 2026 the governing issuance is DepEd Order No. 010, s. 2026, which ran three programmes from May 6 to June 2, 2026: the ARAL Summer Programs in Reading and Mathematics, the Senior High School Remediation Program, and the Summer Academic Remedial Program for learners who failed one or two learning areas. Sessions are two hours per learning area per day at a maximum tutor-to-learner ratio of 1:10, and attendance is mandatory for identified learners. The remedial mark is averaged with the final grade to produce a Recomputed Final Grade, which must reach 75 for promotion. College summer is an unrelated thing: an optional midyear term.
"Summer class" carries three different meanings in the Philippines depending on who is saying it, and only one of them still matches a current DepEd issuance. This guide separates them and names the order behind each.
What a Summer Class Actually Is Now
DepEd calls them Summer Remediation Programs. DO 010, s. 2026 states plainly that they shall be conducted "during the break between school years," and that the school where the learner completed the previous grade level is responsible for providing them to learners "identified as needing targeted support based on their final grades or EOSY assessment results."
That sentence does two things. It makes remediation the school's obligation rather than a service the family shops for, and it makes an assessment result, not a request, the entry ticket.
The order also closes a door. It repeals, amends or modifies anything inconsistent with it in DO 13, s. 2018, the Implementing Guidelines on the Conduct of Remedial and Advancement Classes During Summer, as amended by DO 025, s. 2022. Advancement classes are not part of the 2026 programme. It likewise ends the National Learning Camp under DO 014, s. 2023.
The Three Programmes DepEd Ran in 2026
| Programme | Who it covered in 2026 | Length |
|---|---|---|
| ARAL Summer-Reading | Incoming Grade 2 to incoming Grade 11 | 20-day tutorial |
| ARAL Summer-Mathematics | Incoming Grades 2, 3 and 4 | 20-day tutorial |
| SHS Remediation, English | Incoming Grade 12 | 20-day programme |
| SHS Remediation, Mathematics | Incoming Grade 12 | 20-day programme |
| Summer Academic Remedial Program (SARP) | All grade levels, learners who failed one or two subjects | Per learning area |
The reason there are three names rather than one is that they answer different problems. The ARAL Summer Programs and the SHS Remediation Program target foundational reading and numeracy, and they sit inside the wider ARAL Program created by Republic Act No. 12028. The SARP targets a specific failed learning area and exists to get the learner promoted.
How Learners Get Called In
For the tutorial programmes the trigger is an assessment result, and DO 010 names the instrument for each.
| Programme | Assessment used to identify learners |
|---|---|
| ARAL Summer-Reading, Key Stage 1 | Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment, end of school year |
| ARAL Summer-Reading, Key Stages 2 and 3 | Philippine Informal Reading Inventory, end of school year |
| ARAL Summer-Mathematics, Key Stage 1 | Rapid Mathematics Assessment, end of school year |
| SHS Remediation Program | Senior High School Literacy and Numeracy Assessment |
| Summer Academic Remedial Program | Final grades for the school year |
For the SARP the trigger is simply the report card: learners in Grades 5 to 11 who did not obtain a passing grade in one or two learning areas, and senior high school learners who failed any learning area at the end of a semester.
Attendance is not optional once a learner is identified. The order states that attendance "shall be mandatory" and that "consistent non-attendance may result in retention at the current grade level."
How the Remedial Grade Is Computed
This is the part families most often get wrong, so it is worth stating exactly.
The mark a learner earns in the remedial class is the Remedial Class Mark. It does not replace the failed grade. It is averaged with the learner's final grade for the school year, and the result is the Recomputed Final Grade (RFG). An RFG of at least 75 is needed for promotion to the next grade level.
A learner who passes receives a Certificate of RFG signed by the subject teacher and approved by the school head, to be presented at enrolment. A learner who does not reach 75 is assessed immediately for further intervention, which may mean continued remediation next school year or referral to inclusive support services. The general rules on repeating a grade are covered in our grade retention guide, and the arithmetic behind final grades in our guide to computing DepEd grades.
How the Sessions Actually Run
| Rule | What DO 010, s. 2026 sets |
|---|---|
| Schedule | Monday to Friday, Fridays for home-based learning |
| Hours | 2 hours per learning area per day, including a 30-minute break |
| Class size | Maximum tutor-to-learner ratio of 1:10 |
| Delivery | Face-to-face, online or blended, depending on school context |
| Class suspensions | Sessions shift automatically to Alternative Delivery Modes for Education in Emergencies |
| Who teaches SARP | Teachers assigned by the school head, with priority to Master Teachers or highly proficient teachers in the subject |
| Teacher incentive | One day of vacation service credit per six hours of actual service |
Snacks are part of it too: nutritious snacks are to be provided to Key Stage 1 learners during ARAL Summer sessions, following the food standards in DO 13, s. 2017.
The Grading Order Changed Underneath It
DO 010, s. 2026 was signed on 28 April 2026 and refers to DO 8, s. 2015 when defining which learners failed. Five weeks later, on 4 June 2026, DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026 repealed DO 8, s. 2015 outright.
The remedial machinery survived the change and acquired a formal name. Under DO 015, learners who fail at most two learning areas "shall undergo Summer Remedial Class (SRC)," summative assessments during the SRC produce a Remedial Class Mark, and the final grade and the RCM are averaged to obtain the Recomputed Final Grade, with 75 as the pass. Learners who still fail one or two learning areas after the SRC are conditionally promoted and clear the deficiency as a back subject, one per term, through School-Initiated Intervention. Learners who fail more than two learning areas are retained. In senior high school, failing a prerequisite blocks enrolment in the higher-level subject until the learner passes.
So the substance is unchanged and the citation is not. If you are reading an explainer that anchors summer remediation on DO 8, s. 2015 without saying it was repealed, it is out of date. Our guide to the new grading system covers what else moved.
When Summer Falls in the Calendar Now
Under DO 009, s. 2026, basic education moved to a three-term school calendar. School Year 2026-2027 opened on 8 June 2026 and ends on 8 April 2027, running 201 class days. The gap between the last day of one school year and the opening of the next is the window remediation sits in, which is why the 2026 programmes ran in May.
Do not treat the 2026 dates as the schedule for the next cycle. DepEd issues a fresh memorandum each year setting the actual dates, and the calendar itself is explained in our SY 2026-2027 school calendar guide.
College Summer Is a Different Thing
If you are a college student, none of the above applies to you. What used to be called summer term in higher education is the midyear term: shorter, optional, usually capped in units, and priced per subject unless the student is covered by free higher education in a state university. Failing a subject in college is handled by re-enrolment in it, not by an averaged remedial mark. Our college summer classes guide covers load limits, cost and whether free tuition applies.
What to Ask the School
- Which programme has my child been identified for, and on the basis of which assessment or grade?
- What are the actual dates, hours and venue this year?
- Who is the assigned teacher or tutor, and what is the group size?
- Will a Certificate of Recomputed Final Grade be issued, and when?
- If the RFG still falls short of 75, what is the school's plan for next school year?
Disclaimer: summer remediation dates, coverage and programme names are set annually by DepEd issuance and vary by school and division. The details above describe the 2026 cycle under DO 010, s. 2026. Confirm the current issuance with the school before making arrangements.
Ready to find the right school? Browse schools or compare programmes, tuition and reviews across hundreds of Philippine schools on SchoolFinderPH.
Sources
- DepEd — DO 010, s. 2026, Guidelines for the Implementation of 2026 Summer Remediation Programs (official)
- DepEd — DO 015, s. 2026, Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition (official)
- DepEd — DO 018, s. 2025, Implementing Guidelines of the ARAL Program (official)
- DepEd — DO 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education (official)
- LawPhil — Republic Act No. 12028, Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program Act
- SchoolFinderPH — DepEd New Grading System 2026
- SchoolFinderPH — ARAL Program Guide
- SchoolFinderPH — Summer Classes in College
