ARC is a standards-based aptitude assessment tool geared towards measuring critical thinking and the necessary knowledge and skills for pursuing higher education and/or a specific career. The assessment tool aims to measure the academic readiness of Grades 11-12 students based on the College Readiness Standards (CRS) of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), occupational skills, and interest among occupational fields from Holland’s Vocational Themes.

ARC is composed of an achievement test, aptitude test, and interest inventory that aims to assesses knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal preferences of students in relation to different occupational fields. It specifically assesses student knowledge among the core subject areas indicated by the CRS and provide information on their preparedness for the academic qualifications higher education and/or skills in pursuing a certain career path. The aptitude test and interest inventory results are also interlinked to provide a comprehensive individual profile report to the students.
ARC focuses on assisting schools and guardians in the college and career exploration and planning through the assessment results, and by providing the Self-Help: Know and Explore Sheet as well as result and report interpretations. Furthermore, GRACE provides result/data interpretation services in collaboration with the school, to better serve ARC’s purpose – assist the students as much as it can.

ARC consists of three (3) subtests: achievement test, aptitude test, and interest inventory. The achievement test assesses the proficiency of students within the seven (7) entry-level general education courses: English, Mathematics, Science, Filipino, Social Studies, Humanities, and Literature. The aptitude test and the interest inventory assess student competency and preferences among the different sets of skills and activities related to Holland’s Vocational Themes or occupational fields: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional.

ARC was conceptualized through a framework established by GRACE, along with technical advisers who are well-known in their respective fields. The content of all the subtests were developed through a series of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and item-writing workshops with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from various fields and disciplines. Items were also identified through the curriculum standards of CHED and Holland’s Vocational Themes. Initial items were then subjected to a series of extensive reviews by panels of SMEs for content validation, and a pilot test was done for the tests of reliability and validity. Psychometric analysis of the assessment was then made to ensure its quality and functionality.

ARC results provide students with information regarding their strengths among the subject area domains, and pinpoints specific competencies that needed critical attention and further development in order to be academically prepared for their preferred course. It also provides students information on the alignment of their level of interest for specific occupational fields and their measured competencies in these fields.
A detailed description of occupational fields and information regarding the occupations under each field are also included in the results. This information can also be used by guidance counselors and parents in helping students undertake career exploration and planning in helping students undertake college and career exploration and planning.


The school on the other hand, is provided with information regarding the performance of each class on the achievement and aptitude test, as well as the frequency of students according to their preferred occupational field, and course or program.

ARC is administered for eight (8) hours which already includes a one (1) hour lunch break; (15) morning and afternoon breaks, and a total of (25) minutes for giving of instructions and distribution of test materials within the classrooms. The provided time allotment is the most ideal when administering ARC, therefore it is highly advised not to exceed these time allotments or make unnecessary adjustments.

The school may opt to have the test administration of ARC be divided into two (2) working days to avoid test fatigue. However, strict compliance with the instructions provided by GRACE must be made, including the sequence and time allotted of each test to ensure test standardization.

ARC uses Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) answer sheets for scanning and computation of raw scores based on shaded responses. Blank responses in are therefore omitted and automatically scored as “zero”. The scanner then produces a soft copy of datasets to be scored and processed into reports by licensed Psychometricians (RPms) through the use of. A Quality Assurance (QA) team then reviews the generated reports to be printed out and delivered to the schools.

Essay responses are manually scored by Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) using holistic scoring rubrics on selected grade levels. The scores are then encoded in the datasets and endorsed to the Psychometricians (RPms) for processing.

The reports will be delivered twenty-one (21) working days after the testing date for both Metro Manila and provincial schools.

During test administration, GRACE consolidates the names of students that were unable to take the test, and endorse them to the school principal/administrator for absentee testing. Students are considered absent if:

they were not able to take all three subtests (Achievement, Aptitude, and Interest Inventory)
they missed one of the subtests and/or specific parts of a subtest (e.g. a subject in the Achievement test, one of the Parts of the Aptitude test).
It is upon the prerogative of the school to allow another examination date for the absentees; data from the absentee test results however would no longer be included in the class and school reports. In addition, their Individual reports will be delivered within the appointed working days after the said date.


Note: The school must be in close coordination with GRACE in finalizing the testing date and logistics for the absentees. GRACE will then be sending testing personnel to administer the test. For regional clients, area coordinators or PPH field personnel are the ones appointed for test administration.