Factors and Challenges Influencing the Criminologist Licensure Examination Performance through the Non-passers’ Lens

<p style="text-align: justify;">This study aimed to explore the perceived factors that influenced the success and challenges experienced when taking licensure examination among Bachelor of Science in Criminology graduates of a state university in the Philippines who failed in the Criminologist Licensure Examinations (CLE). Descriptive-correlational research design was utilized to analyze quantitative data, and Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenology was used for the thematic analysis of qualitative data. The quantitative findings revealed that home and family factor has a high influence on the success in CLE, while student factor, school factor, review center factor, and personal factor have average influence. Further, ten clusters of themes emerged as factors that influence the success in CLE. Among them were interest and focus on the program, and availability of qualified and dedicated faculty. Among the themes that emerged as challenges were lack of preparedness for the exam because of one’s work, and personal and social pressures. There is a significant difference on the respondents’ perception towards the factors that influence the success in CLE when they are grouped according to sex. Regarding the challenges associated with preparing for and taking the CLE, a significant difference is only observed when respondents are grouped according to their civil status. Generally, married respondents have higher weighted means than the single ones. This implies that the identified challenges affected married respondents more than the single ones. These results can be used to make policies and initiate programs that would enhance graduates’ success in the exam by providing appropriate interventions and early remediations.</p>

A deeper look at predicting outcomes for future educators

Because educator licensure is gained by passing licensure examinations in most states, scores on high stakes tests are determining factors as to who will be teaching in America’s classrooms. Due to a focus on program graduation rates, state funding cuts, and production of quality teachers, it is vital that teacher preparation programs produce the quality and quantity of teachers needed to fill the educator deficit. The purpose of the study was to analyze various performance variables of pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher preparation to identify predictors of performance on required licensure examinations. Findings of the study revealed there is a relationship between Praxis I: Reading scores and Praxis II scores, Praxis I: Writing scores and Praxis II scores, Praxis I: Mathematics scores and Praxis II scores, GPA and Praxis II scores, and CBASE scores and Praxis II scores. The strongest relationships that exist between variables and Praxis II scores are initial Praxis I: Reading scores and overall CBASE scores.

Cumulative Grade Point Average and Comprehensive Examination Results as Predictors of Certified Public Accountant Board Examinees’ Performance

The Certified Public Accountant Licensure Examinations among BS Accountancy graduates can be considered as the culminating direct measure on how an accountancy retention policy program in a school prepares students to becoming CPAs. This study is aimed to gauge how cumulative qualifying grade point average of a student from first year to fifth year college and the fifth year comprehensive exams serve as predictors for the CPA Board Exams for a university in Central Luzon, Philippines. To measure the quality of the predictors, October examinees from the graduating batch were the focus of the study. With five hundred fifty three (553) BS Accountancy coming from five alumni batches, three hundred fifty eight (358) passed, fifty five (55) are conditioned and one hundred twenty (120) have failed during the first take of comprehensive exams. Auditing theory, business law and taxation are the most difficult subjects with less than two thirds (< 2/3) of the first takers as passing the said subjects. Those with a CGPA of 1.554 or higher in the undergrad, finishing with latin honors have the highest probability of passing the board. A range of four percent (either -4% to +4%) serves as the average variance between fifth year comprehensive exams and board examination performance for all first takers. Both the CGPA (r=0.632) and comprehensive examinations (r=0.745) are moderate predictors of the board examinations which imply that the accountancy program for the university can still be improved to further prepare the students to become CPAs.

Mock Board Examinations and Nurse Licensure Examinations: 2014 to 2016

The study assessed the performance of nursing graduates in the Mock Board Examinations and Nurse Licensure Examinations from 2014 to 2016. The findings served as bases for a proposed action plan. Specifically, this study ascertained the relationship between the performance of nursing graduates’ in the Mock Board Examinations and Nurse Licensure Examinations.The descriptive-correlational design was used utilizing secondary data taken from the review center. The study was conducted at the College of Nursing, University of Cebu Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines. Subjects of the study were the nursing graduates of the department from 2014 to 2016. Statistical treatment used were simple percentage, and Pearson r.Findings revealed that the university has delivered a passing percentage of 52.4% in 2014, 90% in 2015, and 85.7% in 2016. These performances are above the yearly national passing percentage. The mock board examination performance shows that majority of the subjects have satisfactory rating in 2014 and 2016. However, satisfactory and fair ratings were observed in 2015. In 2014, there were significant relationships between: NP1 and NLE (moderate); NP2 and NLE (moderate); NP3 and NLE (strong); NP4 and NLE (strong); NP5 and NLE (strong); Mean of NPs and NLE (strong). For 2015 and 2016, there were associations between the variables but not significant.In conclusion, the performance in the mock board examinations have influenced the passing rates of the board examinees for the last three years. This is supported by the strength of relationship between variables, strong in 2014 and moderate in 2015 and 2016. The researchers highly recommend the implementation of the mock board examinations in preparation for the nurse licensure examinations. Recommended citation: Amparado, M. A. P. &amp; Diamante, V. A. M. (2018). Mock Board Examinations and Nurse Licensure Examinations: 2014 to 2016. Cebu Journal of Nursing, 1(1), 4-24.

Revised methodology for the examinations of the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners: Impact on institutions, faculty, and students

For over 50 years, the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners (NBCE) has administered pre-licensure examinations to chiropractic students and graduates. During this time, the testing process has been continually refined and improved, consistent with the evolving science and practices of standardized testing. NBCE test results are provided to chiropractic program leaders who use these data to improve their curricula as part of their own ongoing efforts to refine and improve the academic programs. Finally, the Council on Chiropractic Education (CCE) requires accredited chiropractic programs to report their NBCE scores to ensure that benchmarks set by the CCE are met. With this symbiotic relationship between the NBCE, CCE, and chiropractic programs (as well as state licensing authorities), it is very important that these groups collaborate and communicate with transparency and diplomacy. In particular, the chiropractic program leaders—and their students as the end users—are vitally interested in monitoring changes at the NBCE and CCE levels that may impact their programs. Recent changes in testing methodology for the NBCE examinations need to be understood and monitored to ensure that they result in their intended outcome, which is greater validity of the testing process. This commentary reflects the views and concerns of 3 chiropractic educational leaders and is intended to facilitate further discussion among chiropractic program leaders toward strengthening the aforementioned symbiotic relationship.

Responding to a new generation of proprietary study resources in medical education

Traditionally, health sciences libraries have supported patrons who are preparing for medical licensure examinations by collecting and making accessible board exam preparation resources, such as questions banks and study guides. However, when online board exam preparation resources are not available for licensing, providing equitable access to all library users can be a challenge. In recent years, a new generation of online study resources has emerged. Sites such as SketchyMedical and Picmonic use visual learning mnemonics, while resources such as Quizlet leverage crowd-sourcing to generate study content. While some of the content from these resources is made freely available, these resources are often limited to paid individual subscribers. This new generation of study resources, thus, presents a conundrum for health sciences librarians. On the one hand, these innovative resources offer new insights into how students learn and study, reflecting pedagogical trends in self-directed learning. On the other hand, the proprietary individual subscription-based model of these resources can widen the achievement gap between students who can afford to pay subscription costs and those who cannot. This commentary provides an overview of some of the most popular medical board examination preparation resources that have emerged in recent years. The authors suggest that health sciences librarians collaborate with medical students and educators to better understand and evaluate these resources.

Predictors of Passing Probability in the Licensure Examination for Selected Programs in the University of Southeastern Philippines

Performance of higher education institutions in licensure examinations is reflective of the effectiveness of their curricular programs. This study employed a causal design to evaluate graduates’ academic attributes that can potentially determine the likelihood of passing the state-administered board examinations. Considered predictor variables are ratings in University admission test, average high school and college general point averages as well as course grades in major and professional courses. The test of significance of these variables was derived from a binary logistic regression. Results of the evaluation indicated that performance indicators varied across programs. The implications on students’ academic attributes, the institution’s admission and retention policy, assessment practices and quality assurance mechanisms are discussed.