The 2015 Principals Test is based on the seven (7) domains of the National Competency-Based Standards

for School Heads (NCBSSH). The 21stCentury Managerial Skills are already integrated in the said 7 domains.
Furthermore, there will be no more items on communication skills.

1. Informal Education This refers to the lifelong process of learning by which every person acquires
and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences at home, at work,
at play and from life itself.
2. Integrated Schools Schools that offer a complete basic education in one school site and has
unified instructional program.
3. Basic Education It covers early childhood education, elementary, high school, alternative learning
system and special needs education.
4. Operating Officers DepEd officials who are directly involved in the implementation, evaluation
and monitoring plans, programs and projects of the department.
5. Adults Learners These are learners who are aged 25 years old and above who are illiterates or
neo-literates who have either no access to formal education or have reverted to illiteracy.
6. Schools Division Superintendent He/she can appoint only teachers, school heads/principals and
division education supervisors.
7. Regional Director He/she can direct the establishment of another new district upon the
recommendation of the Schools Division Superintendent.
8. Regional Director He/she can exercise disciplinary action over the teaching personnel only.
9. Republic Act 9155 An act that renamed the DECS into DepEd abolished the BPESS (Bureau of
Physical Education and School Sports) and the transfer of the Komisyon ng Wikang Pilipino, national
Historical Institute, Records Management and Archives to the National Commission for Culture and
Arts (NCCA).
10. Republic Act 9155 Known as the Governance of Education Act of 2001
11. Republic Act 8980 Known as the Early Childhood Care and Development Act
12. Republic Act 10157 Known as the Kindergarten Education Act
13. Republic Act 8525 Known as the Adopt-a-School Act of 1998
14. Republic Act 7836 Known as the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994
15. Republic Act 8190 Known as the Localization Law
16. Republic Act 4670 Known as the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers
17. Republic Act 6713 Known as the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and
Employees
18. Republic Act 7160 Known as the Local Government Code of 1991
19. Republic Act 7041 Known as the Publication Law
20. Republic Act 9184 Known as the Government Procurement Reform Act
21. Republic Act 7610 Known as the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and
Discrimination
22. Republic Act 7880 Known as the Fair and Equitable Allocation of the DECS Budget for Capital
Outlay
23. Republic Act 7877 Known as the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act of 1995
24. Batas Pambansa 232 Known as the Education Act of 1982
25. Presidential Decree 603 Known as the Child and Youth Welfare Code of the Philippines
26. Community Linkages It is the learning environments that respond to the aspirations of the
community domain of the NCBTS.
27. Career Service It is based on merit and fitness determined as far as practicable by competitive
examinations as based on highly technical qualifications.
28. MT 1 for 3 years and MA academic requirements Qualifications to become a Master Teacher II.
29. Transfer It is the movement of the employee from one position to another which is of equivalent
rank level or salary without break in the service.
30. Promotion It is the advancement of the employee from one position to another with an increase
in duties and responsibilities and usually accompanied by an increase in salary.
31. Reinstatement It is the issuance of an appointment to a person who has been previously
appointed to a position in a career service and who has through no delinquency or misconduct, been
separated therefrom exonerating him specifies restoration to his previous position.
32. Reassignment It is the movement of one employee from on organizational to another in the same
department or agency which does not involve a reduction in rank, status or salary.
33. Six (6) months only An additional period given to a public employee who is already 65 years old
but not achieved 15 years in the service.
34. Eight (8) hours and five (5) working days It is the number of hours and days a teacher should
render his/her services.
35. Six (6) teaching hours and two (2) working hours It is the complete teaching and working hours
of a teacher in a day.
36. Technical Skill This is a management skill given to employees who are unfamiliar with their job or
present assignment.
37. Strategic Planning It is the process of setting directions for an institution to realize what it wants
to achieve and to go where he wants to go.
38. 25 points in leadership and potential A minimum point required to a Master Teacher candidate
in order to be promoted.
39. The road to excellence starts here. A battle cry of every public school which means excellence
is management that orchestrates diverted at the different aspects of principal operations to achieve
the instructional goals of the school.
40. Portfolio Assessment A diagnostic tool which provides pupils profile and the emerging skills that
will help him become increasingly independent learner and evaluate his possession of knowledge.
41. Fifteen (15) days Number of days a receipt of request by the school to the issuance of official
school certificates, diplomas, transcript of records, grades, transfer credentials and similar documents
and records.
42. Civil Service Manual It contains the basic regulations, institution and information which guide
DepEd Central Office and the field personnel in carrying out the teacher of the department.
43. DepEd Order, Memoranda and Bulletins These are issued by the DepEd for directions and
regulations for the information of or compliance by the field.
44. Recruitment It refers to the process of searching for and identifying job candidates in sufficient
quality and quantity.
45. Merit Promotion Plan This provides guidelines, policies and procedures for recruitment, selection
and appointment.
46. Learning Management Plan It is a document focused in learning composed of the Professional
Development Plan of school head, professional development plan of teachers and student
development activities.
47. Community of Practice (COP) It is a group of professionals/workers bound to one another based
on common problems and pursuit of solutions.
48. Instructional Development It is a means of determining the extent to which the application of a
new skill/competency learned contributed to improving teaching and learning.
49. National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) Formerly known as the National
Education Learning Center (NELC). It provides continuing strategic human resource development
programs for school managers and leaders within the context of emerging legitimate demands.
50. Mentoring It is developmental, caring, sharing and helping relationships where one person invests
time, know-how and effort in enhancing another persons growth, knowledge and skills.
51. Code of Ethical Standards It defines the administrative disciplinary case as one wherein an official
or employee of the government is prosecuted for an act or omission punishable as a non-penal
offense as provided for in the Civil Service Law, Administrative Law and other laws.
52. Grievance Procedure It is referred to as workable procedure for determining or providing the best
way to remedy the specific cause or causes of the grievance.
53. Property Accountability It is the obligation imposed by law on an official for keeping accurate
records of property.
54. The Principals Guidelines Regarding Standard Operating Procedures for Teachers and
Accounting of Government Property This is to enable the principal to group property
management as applied to teachers in her particular school.
55. Performance Indicators It refers to the several key indicators that can be computed and utilized
for evaluating the educational systems performance at various levels.
56. Participation Rate It is the ratio between the enrolments in the school age range to the total
population of that range.
57. Growth Enrolment Rate It refers to the total enrolment in a given level of education as a
percentage of a population which according to national regulations should be enrolled at this level.
It is the measure of the capacity of a regional elementary and secondary school.
58. Cohort Survival Rate It is the proportion of enrollees at the beginning grade or year who reach
the final grade or year at the end of the required number of years of study.
59. Completion Rate It is the percentage of first year entrants in a level of education who
completes/finishes the level of accordance with the required number of year of study.
60. Drop-out Rate It is the proportion of pupils who leave the school during the year as well as those
who complete the grade/year level but fail to enroll in the next grade/year following the school year
to the total number of pupils during the previous school year.
61. Transition Rate It is the percentage of pupils who graduate from one level of education and none
on the higher next level.
62. Achievement Rate It refers to the degree of performance in different study areas in various levels
of education.
63. Mean Performance Score (MPS) It indicates the ratio between the number of correctly answered
items and the total number of test questions or the percentage of correctly answered item in a test.
64. Teacher-Pupil Ratio It is the proportion of enrolment at a certain level of education in a given
school year to the number of authorized nationally-paid positions.
65. M2 (moderate) Maturity Level of Teacher A maturity level of teacher who does not need only
direction and supervision but needs encouragement or support and recognition for a job done.
66. Encouraging Style of Leadership It is described as a combination of high directive (task) and high
supportive behavior and is most appropriate to be used to people who have some competence but
lack of commitment.
67. DepEd Order No. 28, 2005 It recognizes the Red Cross Youth (RCY) as official co-curricular
organization in the school and encourages every elementary and secondary student to enlist as
members of the Junior Red Cross Youth (JRCY) and the Senior Red Cross Youth (SRCY).
68. Republic Act 8190 The law that provides that teachers-applicant or teachers-transferee for that
matter given priority if they are bonafide residents of the barangay, municipality or province where
the school recipient is located.
69. DepEd Order Number 22, series 2005 It includes the BSP, GSP, PNRY, and Anti-TB Education Drive
as voluntary basis of contribution.
70. Peer Supervision It is being done to Teacher 1 and Teacher 2.
71. Intensive-Guided Supervision It is being given to new teachers in the school.
72. Collaborative Supervision It is given to teachers who prefer to work cooperatively with the
supervisor in developing a supervision form.
73. Registry of Qualified Applicants It refers to the list of applicants deemed to have met the
qualifications required by law based on the evaluation and selection guidelines for teacher positions
in the elementary and secondary public schools.
74. Management It is a way the principals use themselves to create a school climate characterized by
staff productivity, pupil productivity and creative thought.
75. Managerial Acumen It is the systematic application of an array of skills that provide an orderly,
efficient and effective school environment.
76. Potential This takes into account the employees capability not only to perform the duties and
assume the responsibilities of the position to be filled but also to those of higher and more
responsible positions.
77. School Climate It refers to the sum of all values, cultures, safety practices and organizational
structures within a school that cause it to function and react in particular ways.
78. Alternative Learning System (ALS) It is a parallel learning system to provide a viable alternative
to the existing formal education.
79. Quality Education It is an appropriateness, relevance and excellence of the education given to
meet the needs and aspirations of an individual in a society.
80. DepEd Subsidized Program It is known as the pre-school education funded by the PTA and other
organizations.
81. Principle of Shared Governance It is the principle which recognizes that every unit in the
education bureaucracy has a particular role, task and responsibility inherent in the office.
82. Inferring It the process of reading between the lines or drawing of implications.
83. School-Based Management It enables and empowers stakeholders to manage their own affairs
for improved delivery of educational services in a sustainable manner.
84. Accountability Mechanism It is the criteria and quality dimensions of the school-based
management that includes resourcing, classroom structuring and pupil/student achievement.
85. Crisis Management It is a term generally applied to critical situation, a turning point characterized
by a sense of urgency.
86. Threat An element of crisis management which is a potential hindrance to some state of goal
desired by an organization or individual.
87. Decision This element of crisis management refers to time in short when the situation will be
altered in the near future after which no decision can be made only under less favorable
circumstances.
88. Surprise The element of crisis management which refers to lack of self-awareness by those affected
by the crisis, is likely to occur, but is not equated with the lack of planned response to the situation.
89. Brainstorming It involves the spontaneous identification of alternatives by individuals interacting
in an unrestrained setting.
90. Synectics This is a creativity technique that involves the identification of novel alternatives through
the joining together of different and apparently irrelevant elements.
91. Normal Grouping It is the identification of alternatives through a highly structured procedure that
purposely attempts to restrict verbal interaction.
92. School Plant It refers to the school facilities of the school consisting of the site, buildings and other
structures.
93. Republic Act 9155, Section 14 It refers to the implementing rules and regulations known as
Authority, Responsibility and Accountability (AuRA).
94. Technical Competencies This refers to the development of the curriculum and supervision to
ensure the full implementation of the curriculum.
95. Human Resource Competencies This refers to the role of the principal on the collaborative
method which is complex and it involves many variables; issues deal with human factor affecting the
staff, attitudes and perception of the staffs, climate conducive to productive work and emphasis on
interpersonal issues.
96. Political Competencies It is a role which refers to limited resources, principals will either have to
use for some resources; the principal develops ways to collaborate and cooperate in sharing those
resources.
97. Architectural Competencies This is the process by which the administrators use to
frame/construct roles and relationships that will allow organizations to get things down.
98. Bank It refers to World Bank (WB), the lending agency for the NPSBE Project.
99. National Program Support to Basic Education (NPSBE) A 200 million US dollars program
support loan secured by the government from the World Bank to finance in part of the various key
reform thrusts outlined in the BESRA.
100. Support to the Philippine Basic Education Reforms (SPHERE) A grant fund from the
Australian AID Trust Fund amounting to 41 million Au$.
101. School Based Management The decentralization of decision-making authority from
central, regional, and division levels to the individual schools with the intent bringing together the
school heads, teachers, students as well as the parents, the local government units, and the
community at large in bringing improved learning outcomes through effective schools.
102. Grant The funding facility authorized to be used by the schools in SBM operations, also
known as the SBM Support and Installation Fund or the SBM Grant.
103. School Improvement Plan An education development plan that shows the intent and
design that the schools will undertake to introduce improvements in learning outcomes within the
context of SBM in prescribed period and at a given cost.
104. Annual Improvement Plan It identifies the problems and objectives for one school year
and the intervention programs that include strategies and learning activities, time frame for
implementing the activities, persons responsible, and resources needed which are appropriate to
achieve the objectives set.
105. Qualified Recipient Schools These are public elementary and secondary schools with grant
applications submitted to their respective Division Offices and found to be eligible under the terms
and conditions of this set of guidelines.
106. Eligible Activities and Expenditure Items These are activities and expenditure items within
the parameters set out in the NPSBE Loan Agreement and which are recognized as reimbursable by
the World Bank.
107. School Grant Proposal A school program/or project proposal that primarily focuses on the
development of ideal or educationally maximal learning environment for children based on the
accepted/approved SIP/AIP submitted to the Division Office that outlines a proposed project and
shows budgetary requirements and requests monetary assistance in the form of a grant.
108. Implementing Units It refers to the secondary schools that maintain separate book of
accounts.
109. Non-implementing Units It refers to public elementary and secondary schools without
separate book of accounts that are under the direct supervision of the division offices.
110. High Priority Divisions These refer to the 40 highly challenged DepEd divisions whose
performance indicators have been computed as way below standards.
111. 4Ps Program It is a poverty reduction measure of the Philippine government that focuses
on human capital investment in the poorest of the poor households in the country.
112. 4Ps Schools These are public elementary schools within the municipalities covered by the
4Ps program managed by DSWD.
113. 7m x 9m classroom The conventional design of classroom to be adopted for all public
elementary and secondary schools regardless of its location and class size.