Philippine High School Diploma Equivalent in USA

09/01/2023

(Philippine High School Students)

Coming to USA from the Philippines could be tough.

Especially when you're asked to have your foreign high school diploma evaluated for employment, militray application, or education.

However, high school diploma in the Philippines can be different from an U.S. one. That's why you need a high school diploma evaluation to determine its U.S. equivalent.

We'll take a deep dive into Philippine high school diploma equivalent in USA below:

What’s foreign high school diploma evaluation?
Philippine high school diploma equivalent in USA
How to validate a foreign high school diploma in USA?

1. Secondary Education in the Philippines

For long time, the Philippines was one of the three countries (Angola, Djibouti and Myanmar) that utilized a 10-year pre-university education cycle. Here’s a brief introduction of the secondary education in the Philippines:

K–10 (1945–2017)

In the Philippines, K-10 education was implemented before 2017, and was often referred to as the "10-year cycle" or "10-year basic education program." This system covered elementary education and high school education without the inclusion of senior high school.

After 2012, the transition to the K-12 system began and was fully implemented in 2017.

K–12 (2012–present)

The K-12 education system is now the current basic education system in the Philippines since June 4, 2012. It comprises kindergarten and 12 years of primary and secondary education, all of which are compulsory.

After that, students are eligible for enrolling in undergraduate-level education.

2. What’s foreign high school diploma evaluation?

Foreign high school diploma evaluation, aka Foreign Credential Evaluation is a service provided by professional evaluation agencies to evaluate educational backgrounds, test scores, professional experiences, etc. obtained outside the United States.

It's an essential procedure for foreign nationals, who are seeking higher education, work authorization (H1B), immigration status, employment, and military recruitment in the United States.

Since your foreign high school diploma may be called different in your own language, the purpose of your foreign credential evaluation is to make your foreign diploma equivalent to a U.S. high school diploma. Therefore, the immigration officer, military, your future employer or school can have a solid understanding of your educational background.

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3. Philippine high school diploma equivalent in USA

(Quora Philippine High School Diploma Evaluation)

Due to the history of Philippine secondary education, you may be confused about where your Philippine high school background stands in USA.

Therefore, a Philippine high school diploma equivalent in USA can be broken down into two sceneries:

10 Years of Philippine High School Diploma Equivalent in USA

Mostly grade 10 at an accredited high school in USA.

Since the Philippines had a 10-year secondary education before 2017, if you can provide a proof letter that states the High School Diploma you received and graduated from will allow you to be accepted at any college in the Philippines, then it’s likely your 10-year secondary education can be equivalent to a High School Diploma in USA.

12 Years of Philippine High School Diploma Equivalent in USA

U.S. High School Diploma.

According to the Undergraduate Admissions at UC San Diego, a 12 Year Secondary School Graduation is equivalent to a U.S. High School Diploma.

This result is easy to understand, because after the reform, the Philippines now also has a K-12 schooling system as the U.S.

After 12th grade in the Philippines, students are eligible for undergraduate level education in the country.

(UC San Deigo Philippine High School Equivalent)

4. How to validate a foreign high school diploma in USA?

Typically, when you search for “foreign high school diploma evaluation near me”, you could use these lists to find out a trusted credential evaluation agency to assist you:

They can all meet your needs for employment, immigration, and education.

If you live in Florida, California or Texas, we also listed the following educational evaluators for you:

Overall, there are many credential evaluation agencies that can perform your international transcript evaluation. However, it’s essential to ensure that the chosen evaluation service meets your needs for immigration, employment, military, education and more. The requester may also have specific requirements, such as needing a course-by-course evaluation or a general document-by-document evaluation.

For more information, click “Where to Evaluate International Degree in USA [Ultimate Guide]”

Further Information about Credential Evaluation

A credential evaluation mainly includes 2 types of evaluations:

Foreign Degree Evaluation (Diploma Evaluation/Document by Document)
This report includes U.S. degree equivalency only. It's a basic evaluation that often satisfies requirements for employment and immigration.
Transcript Evaluation (Course by Course)
This most complete report includes U.S. degree equivalency, credits, grades, and GPA. It's recommended for college admission, determining transfer credits or applying for an advanced degree, licensing, USCIS RFE, and more.

with the purpose of making your foreign high school diploma equivalent to US degree or educational equivalency evaluation.

Contact Us for a Free Estimate.

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