Journal of Research Vol. XXI No. 2 (2012) pp. 20-29 Published by the Isabela State University Cabagan, Isabela ISSN-0116-7413 PERFORMANCE OF ISU GRADUATES IN THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION FOR AGRICULTURISTS Samuel R. Simon1 and Janet B. Quilang2 1 Associate Professor III and 2Professor VI Provincial Technical Institute of Agriculture, Isabela State University, Cabagan, Isabela ABSTRACT As basis for recommendation for the improvement of the University’s agriculture programs and the graduates’ performance in the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA), this study determined the performance of the Isabela State University (ISU) graduates in the LEA given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). This study primarily used the descriptive method of research and the respondents were the LEA examinees from 2003-2011 from the seven (7) Echague, Cabagan, Cauayan, San Mateo, Roxas, San Mariano and Jones Campuses. Results of this study reveal that the average ISU passing percentage in the LEA from 2003 to 2011 is 22.84% which is below the average national passing percentage of 31.42% for the same period. The average LEA rating obtained by the University is 65.76% which is also below the passing score of 75.00%. The average overall academic performance of the examinees is 84.58% which is significantly higher than their average LEA rating. Correlation analysis shows that there is high and negative relationship between the examinees’ LEA rating and their academic performance. This study further found that the highest average rating obtained by the examinees in the LEA was in the area of Crop Protection followed by Animal Science, Crop Science, Agricultural Extension and Communication, Soil Science and the least is in the area of Agricultural Economics and Marketing. Test of significance at 5% level however, reveals that there is no significant difference between the ratings obtained by the examinees in the six (6) areas of the LEA. _______________________________ Keywords: licensure examination for agriculturists, LEA performance, LEA passing percentage, academic performance, ISU passing percentage INTRODUCTION The extent of knowledge acquired by a person from a higher learning institution cannot be measured only by the course he finished or even the honors he |Page Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 received, but also by his performance on a given examination, especially in a licensure examination. Performance in a given examination is believed to be greatly affected by their academic achievement. A person who has excelled academically has greater chance of passing a given examination. percentage are generally low compared to the national passing percentage. Since the licensure examination measures the knowledge and competencies a graduate obtained from the course, academic achievement plays a very important role in their performance in the examination. Passing the licensure examination for a graduate of a regulated profession is a requirement for registration. A graduate can not legalize the practice of his profession unless he passed the licensure examination. Agriculture graduates for instance are required to pass the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA) before they will be granted with a certificate of registration by the Board of Agriculture and legally practice their profession. This study determines the weak and strong points of the ISU Agriculture graduates in the licensure examination. Results will be used for the enrichment of the technical subjects and improvement of the curriculum to give more emphasis to the subjects identified as common weak points of the examinees. The performance of their graduates in the licensure examinations is one of the measures of the quality of education a higher learning institutions offers. Although the performance of an examinee depends more on his intellectual ability it cannot be denied also that in this aspect the effectiveness and performance of a teacher is measured (Aman, 1998). Objectives of the Study As basis for improving the University’s agriculture programs and the graduate’s performance in the LEA, this study sought to determine the performance of ISU graduates in the Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA) given by the Professional Regulation Commission from 2003 to 2011. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: In the past six (6) years, the ISU 1. What is the yearly and overall average had produced a number of passers in performance of the ISU graduates in the licensure examinations for the LEA in the past nine years? agriculturists but yearly passing 21 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 2. What are the graduates’ academic rating in the six (6) subject areas of the LEA namely: Crop Science, Animal Science, Crop Protection, Soil Science, Agricultural Extension and Communication, and Agricultural Economics and Marketing? 3. What is the graduates’ academic performance? overall 4. Is there a significant relationship between the overall academic performance of the graduates and their performance in the licensure examination? 5. Is there a significant relationship between the academic performance of the graduates in the six (6) component areas of the LEA and their respective scores in the LEA? courses/subjects grouped into six (6) component areas, namely: Crop Science, Animal Science, Crop Protection, Soil Science, Agricultural Extension and Communication, and Agricultural Economics and Marketing. The overall passing mark is a grade average of 75% with no grade lower than 65% in any of the subject areas. The conceptual framework of the study is shown in Figure 1. Some factors are hypothesized to have influenced the performance in the LEA of ISU graduates. The factor included in this study was the academic performance of the students in the six (6) subject areas. Conceptual Framework The Licensure Examination for Agriculturists (LEA) was first conducted in 2003 as the standard evaluation measure administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to determine who among the graduates of agriculture programs are academically and technically fit for admission in the agriculture profession. The LEA is a multiple choice type of examination given in 3 days that covers the content of the agriculture Figure 1. Conceptual framework of the study 22 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 Moreover, on the average, the university passing rate for the past nine (9) years (2003-2011) is 22.84% which is still below the national average passing rate of 31.42% for the same period. 45 40 2. LEA Performance. Individual rating scores of all ISU examinees in the LEA. This data were requested from the PRC in Manila. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ISU Yearly Average LEA Passing Rate As shown in Figure 2, the yearly passing rate of ISU is always below the national passing rate except in the 25 20 15 10 5 ISU Average… 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2003 0 2011 1. Academic Performance. Average of the final grades of the examinees in the six (6) subject areas of the LEA. This data were taken from the official transcript of records of examinees. 30 2010 To answer the objectives of this study, the following data were gathered: 35 2004 The study primarily used the descriptive method of research. The respondents of the study consisted of a total of 150 LEA examinees from ISU particularly Echague, San Mateo, Cauayan, Roxas, San Mariano, Jones and Cabagan Campuses from 20032008. The respondents were selected following the stratified random sampling with fifty percent or 75 of the total respondents were passers and the other fifty percent or 75 were nonpassers. year 2008 where the university passing rate (34.33%) exceeded the national passing rate (30.37%). Percent Passing Rate METHODOLOGY Figure 2. Yearly ISU LEA passing rate and the national LEA passing rate LEA Passing Campus Percentage by Figure 3 shows the yearly LEA passing percentage by campus. As shown in the figure, in 2003 Cauayan campus obtained a 100% passing rate with a lone examinee followed by Roxas campus with 33.33% passing 23 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 percentage then by San Mariano campus with 20.00%. Cabagan campus obtained 14.58%while Echague campus (8.12%) gained the lowest passing percentage. In 2004, Cabagan campus obtained the highest passing rate of 50.00% followed by Echague campus (16.67%) while Cauayan, Roxas, San Mariano and Jones campuses had no passing examinees. In 2005, Roxas campus registered the highest passing rate (66.67%) followed by Cabagan campus (30%) then by San Mariano campus (20%) and Echague campus (14.08%) while Cauayan campus did not have any passing examinee. In 2006, Roxas campus recorded the highest passing rate (50%) followed by Cabagan campus (47.06%), then by Echague campus (20.31%) while both Cauayan and San Mariano campus there was no passing examinee. In 2009, Cabagan campus got the highest passing rate (28.57%) followed by San Mariano campus (25%). Echague campus got 23.81%. Roxas campus got 16.67% and Cauayan campus got 12.50% while examinees from Jones campus were not able to pass the exam. In 2010, Jones campus obtained a 100% passing rate with three examinees followed by Cabagan campus (40%) then by Cauayan campus (25%) then by Echague campus (15.15%) and by Roxas campus (6.67%). Two examinees from San Mariano campus were not able to hurdle the examination. In 2011, again the campus obtained the highest passing rate (57.14%) followed by Cabagan campus (33.33%),Echague campus (30.22%) and Cauayan campus (20%). Roxas and San Mariano campuses obtained a zero passing rate. In 2007, Cabagan campus recorded the highest passing rate (41.18%) followed by Echague campus (26.56%) while Cauayan, Roxas and San Mariano campuses got a zero passing rate. In 2008, San Mariano campus recorded the highest passing rate of 50% with two (2) examinees followed by Cabagan campus (31.58%), then by Echague campus (25%). Roxas, San Mariano and Jones campuses got a zero passing rate. 24 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 Average Passing Rate by Campus and Average National Passing Rate Figure 4 shows the comparison of the average passing rate by campus and the average national passing rate from 2003-2011. As shown in the figure, only Cabagan campus (35.14%) obtained a passing percentage that surpasses the average national passing rate (31.42%) while the other campuses’ passing rate falls below the average national passing rate with the San Mariano campus obtaining the lowest with only 15.56% passing rate. 40 obtained by the examinees of Cabagan campus followed by Echague campus. The lowest average LEA rating is in Soil Science and was obtained by San Mariano campus as well as in Agricultural Economics and Marketing which was obtained by Jones campus. Test of significance at 5% level shows that there is a significant difference in the ratings obtained by the examinees from the different campuses. Figure 4. Average LEA passing rate by campus & average LEA national passing rate from 2003 - 2011 Figure 5. ISU average LEA rating by subject area 35 80.00 30 70.00 25 60.00 20 50.00 Crop Science Soil Science 40.00 15 30.00 10 20.00 5 10.00 Echague Cabagan Cauayan Jones San Mariano Roxas 0 Campus Avarage Passing Rate Crop Protection Animal Science Ag. Eco. & Mktg. Ag. Ext'n. & Comm. Average LEA Rating by Subject Area Figure 5 reveals the average LEA rating obtained by ISU examinees by subject area. As revealed in the figure, the highest average ratings were generally Average Academic Grade and LEA Ratings by Subject Area The average academic grade and corresponding LEA rating per subject 25 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 is shown in Figure 6. As displayed in the figure, the average academic grades of the examinees per subject area are consistently higher than their corresponding ratings in the LEA. Furthermore, Test of significance at 5% level reveals that there is a significant difference between the average academic grades and LEA ratings per subject area of the examinees. by Cabagan campus with 82.35%. However, in terms of the average LEA rating, the highest rating was obtained by Cabagan campus and the lowest was obtained by the examinees from San Mariano campus. Further analysis of the data reveals that there is an inverse relationship between the academic grades and LEA rating of the examinees. This means that obtaining a high academic grade is not a guarantee of obtaining a high rating also in the LEA. Moreover, it could also be deduced that the standard of Cabagan campus in terms of giving academic grade is higher compared to the other campuses because although Cabagan campus has the lowest average academic grade, it obtained the highest LEA rating compared to the other campuses. Test of significance at 5% level reveals that there is no significant difference in the academic grades of examinees by campus. Table 6. Academic grade and LEA rating 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Average Academic Grade Average Overall Academic Grade and LEA Ratings by Campus Figure 7 shows the examinees’ average overall academic grade as compared with the average LEA rating. As shown in the figure, the highest average academic grade was recorded by Jones Campus with 86.56% while the lowest was recorded In terms of LEA rating, however, analysis shows that there is a significant difference between the ratings obtained by the examinees by campus. Furthermore, correlations analysis reveals that there is a high but negative relationship between the overall academic performance and LEA rating of the examinees. 26 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 100.00 90.00 80.00 70.00 60.00 50.00 40.00 30.00 20.00 10.00 - Figure 7. ISU average academic grade and LEA rating by campus 4. The average overall academic performance of the examinees is 84.58% which is significantly higher than their average LEA rating of 65.76%. 5. There is a moderate but negative relationship between the overall academic performance of the examinees and their average LEA rating. 6. There is a moderate but negative relationship between the academic performance of the examinees and their respective LEA ratings per subject area. Average LEA Score CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions are drawn: 1. The average ISU passing percentage in the LEA from 2003 to 2011 is 22.84% which is below the average national passing percentage of 31.42% for the same period. 7. The academic performance of the graduates is significantly different with their respective scores in the six (6) subject areas of the LEA. 8. There is a significant difference in the ratings in the six (6) subject areas obtained by the examinees by campus. 9. 2. The average LEA rating obtained by the University is 65.76% which is also below the passing score of 75.00%. 3. Cabagan campus has the highest average passing percentage in the LEA and average LEA rating compared to the other campuses. 27 | P a g e The highest average rating obtained by the examinees in the LEA was in the area of Crop Protection followed by Animal Science, Crop Science, Agricultural Extension and Communication, Soil Science and the least is in the area of Agricultural Economics and Marketing . Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 In the light of the findings and conclusions formulated, the researcher recommends the following: 1. Since the average LEA rating of the examinees in all subject areas is below the passing mark, it is recommended that the teachinglearning process in all these subject areas should be enriched and enhanced in order for the graduates to be equipped with the knowledge and competencies necessary for them not only to pass but to obtain high ratings in the LEA. This could be done by adding more essential topics in these subjects and providing more avenues or activities for them to acquire the desired knowledge and competencies as Agriculturists; 2. Since the lowest LEA rating was obtained in the areas of Soil Science and Agricultural Economics and Marketing, there is a need to enrich and improve the content of these subjects as well as to enhance the teaching-learning process in order for the students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills and improve their performance in these subjects; 3. In order to improve the performance of the graduates in the LEA, the offering of additional units in Soil Science and Agricultural Economics and Marketing should be considered since the Agriculture programs of the University has very limited units on these subjects especially Soil Science subject where only 3 units is offered in most of the campuses; 4. For the enhancement of the preparation of the graduates in the LEA, review classes should be conducted as well as to invite resource speakers/reviewers from outside of the University in order for them to learn new or additional knowledge on the different subject areas of the LEA; 5. A regular review and updating of the agriculture and agri-based curriculum based on the latest CMO 45 is necessary as well as amendments thereof on the approaches/methodologies on Outcomes Based Education (OBE); 6. The offering of Audit Courses in the agriculture program is recommended to be maintained in order to prepare the graduates for the licensure examination while the University has still control over them. This is because after graduation, the graduates can no longer be forced by the University to enroll in review classes to enhance their performance in the examination that would redound to a better University performance. An enhanced implementation of the Audit Course may consider increasing the number of units or contact hours and a 28 | P a g e Simon, S.R. & J. B. Quilang / Journal of Research (Vol. XXI No.2 -2012) 20-29 quantitative grade in order to pass the course. 7. A follow up study should be conducted in order to determine the other correlates or factors that may affect the graduates’ performance in the licensure examination. 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The Latest Policy Guidelines and Standards in the BSA Program. 29 | P a g e