SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (SHS) SHS consists of two years of specialized upper secondary education (grades 11 and 12, ages 16 to 18). Students are streamed into academic specialization tracks with distinct curricula. Before enrolling, students choose a specialization track, being restricted in their choice only by the availability of that specialization at the school they plan to attend. The four tracks are: Academic Track Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) Track Sports Track Arts and Design Track Students in all tracks study a core curriculum of 15 required subjects from seven learning areas, which include: languages, literature, communication, mathematics, philosophy, natural sciences, and social sciences. The grading scale and methods of assessment used in SHS are the same as in JHS, but with a stronger emphasis on performance tasks. Upon completion of grade 12, students are awarded a high school diploma. The Academic Track is designed to prepare students for tertiary education. It is further divided into four strands: general academic; accountancy, business and management (ABM); humanities and social sciences (HUMSS); and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The TVL Track is intended for students looking to enter the labor force or pursue further TVET after graduation. It is also divided into four strands: home economics; agriculture/fishery; industrial arts; and information and communications technology (ICT). Graduates that pass the relevant TESDA assessment tests are simultaneously eligible for the award of a TESDA National Certificate I or II (see TVET section below). The Sports and Arts and Design Tracks are intended to impart “middle-level technical skills” for careers in sports-related fields and creative industries. Enrollments in these two tracks will be comparatively small, however. While the Department of Education expected an estimated 609,000 students to enroll in the academic track, and another 596,000 students to enroll in the TVL track in 2016, only 20,000 students were anticipated to opt for the sports or arts and design tracks. Overall, it is expected that the new overhauled K-12 curriculum will lead to greatly improved educational outcomes, since it helps “decongest” the highly condensed prior 10-year curriculum. Filipino educators have blamed the old compressed curriculum, at least in part, for the high dropout rates and lack-luster test scores in recent years, since it did not afford students the time necessary to absorb and learn all the material presented to them.