An 8-Week NASH Study Plan Built on the PPSSH

This is a study plan for the National Assessment for School Heads (NASH). The schedule and tips are our suggestions, not DepEd rules. What we base them on is official: what DepEd says the NASH measures, how it scores it, and how it recommends you prepare.

What the plan is built on

Three facts from the DepEd issuances shape this plan:

The content is the PPSSH. DM No. 069, s. 2025 says the NASH covers “conceptual and situational critical thinking questions” aligned with the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (DO No. 024, s. 2020). The PPSSH has five domains and 34 strands.
Every domain counts. In the FY 2025 results (DM 097, s. 2025), a taker needed 65 or higher overall and in at least three domains to become a prospective candidate. A neglected domain can cost you a competency level. See How the NASH Is Scored: The 65-Point Rule.
DepEd recommends coaching. DM 069 strongly encourages aspiring school heads to join coaching and mentoring sessions with experienced, proficient school principals, to see how the PPSSH competencies are practiced.

DM 069 also says the questions use the SOLO (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome) taxonomy as a framework. SOLO is a general model of how deep an answer goes, from recalling isolated points to connecting them and applying them to new situations. For studying, the lesson is simple: aim to explain how the ideas in a strand connect and how you would use them, not just what they are.

Before you start

Get the source documents. Download DO 24, s. 2020 (the PPSSH), and the latest NASH memorandum for your batch. Read the issuance, not summaries of it, including ours.
Find a mentor. Ask a principal in your school or district whether you can talk through school situations with them during the eight weeks.
Plan your hours. The schedule below assumes about five to six hours a week. Adjust it to your workload.

Week 1: The big picture

Read DO 24, s. 2020 from start to finish: the rationale, the guiding principles, the five domains and the four career stages.
Note how Career Stage 1 describes the aspiring school head. That is the level the NASH is aimed at.
Read the NASH memorandum for your batch, so you know the schedule and rules that apply to you.

Week 2: Domain 1, Leading Strategically

Strands: vision, mission and core values; school planning and implementation; policy implementation and review; research and innovation; program design and implementation; learner voice; monitoring and evaluation.
Pick your own school’s plan and ask: how was it made, who was consulted, and how is progress checked?
With your mentor, discuss a policy the school had to implement and how it was adapted to local conditions.

Week 3: Domain 2, Managing School Operations and Resources

Strands: records, financial management, facilities and equipment, management of staff, school safety and disaster resilience, emerging opportunities and challenges.
Review how your school handles records, funds and disaster preparedness. Ask your mentor what decisions they had to make about each.

Week 4: Domain 3, Focusing on Teaching and Learning

Strands: contextualizing learning standards, teaching standards and pedagogies, teacher performance feedback, learner achievement data, learning assessment, learning environment, career awareness, learner discipline.
This domain has eight strands. Give it the full week.
Practice: describe how you would give feedback to a teacher after a class observation, and how you would use learner achievement data to plan support.

Week 5: Domain 4, Developing Self and Others

Strands: personal and professional development, reflection, professional networks, performance management, development of school personnel, leadership development, staff welfare, rewards and recognition.
Write a short reflection on your own development needs as a future principal. The NASH Individual Development Report will do the same for you after the assessment.

Week 6: Domain 5, Building Connections

Strands: managing diverse relationships, managing school organizations, inclusive practice, communication, community engagement.
List the stakeholders of your school and how each one is engaged. Discuss a difficult stakeholder situation with your mentor.

Week 7: Put the domains together

Real school problems rarely belong to one domain. This week, practice situations that cross domains:

A typhoon damages classrooms (Domain 2) during the assessment period (Domain 3), and parents want answers (Domain 5).
A new policy arrives (Domain 1) that teachers need training for (Domain 4).

For each one, write down what you would do first, who you would involve, and which strands apply. Then compare your reasoning with your mentor’s.

Week 8: Review your weakest domain

Rate yourself on each domain from your notes and practice. Spend most of this week on the weakest one.
If your batch has a mock examination, as both FY 2025 batches did under DM 069, take it seriously and use it to find gaps.
Re-read the latest NASH memorandum for practical instructions, such as registration and the DepEd LMS account you will use.

Tips that apply every week

Study every strand. The scoring rewards breadth across domains.
Explain, don’t recite. Practice explaining why a choice is the best one for learners, not just that it follows a rule.
Use real situations. Tie each strand to something you have seen in a school.
Be careful who you pay. DM 069 warns that DepEd is not affiliated with any person or group selling review classes or claiming access to test content. See NASH Review Classes: What DepEd’s Rules Say.

Key points

Base your study on the PPSSH (DO 24, s. 2020): all five domains, all 34 strands.
Practice applying the standards to real situations; the NASH tests situational critical thinking.
Use a principal mentor, as DepEd recommends in DM 069.
Leave the last week for your weakest domain.