THE UNIVERSITY emerged as the only top-performing school in the first-ever licensure examination for psychometricians, with seven Thomasians landing in the top 10, including first place.

UST also dominated the recent licensure examinations for teachers (LET) and mechanical engineers, but recorded a lower passing rate for certified public accountants (CPA), results from the Professional Regulation Commission showed.

UST recorded an 81.91-percent passing rate or 163 passers out of 199 examinees in the psychometrician board exam administered for the first time last October. The law has divided the grant of licenses in psychology into two levels: the psychologist board exam for those with at least a master’s degree in psychology, and the psychometrician board exam for those with at least a bachelor’s degree in psychology who can work under the supervision of a psychologist.

By law, a psychologist can provide different psychological services. A psychometrician can administer and score objective personality tests and structured personality tests as well as interpret the results; write reports; and conduct preliminary interviews for psychological interventions.

Topnotcher Angeli Charmaine Tan led the first batch of registered psychometricians, together with Argee Gumafelix of Ateneo de Davao, after scoring 84.60 percent.

Other Thomasians in the top 10 were Sean Michael Orbigo and Erika Mae Placido at fourth place, along with Claire Bugaoisan of Manila Tytana Colleges, Inc. and Victoria Espino of Ateneo de Manila. All scored 84 percent.

Placing fifth and sixth were Arteliz Puti with a score of 83.80 and Juhnelynn Lanuza with a score of 83.60, respectively.

Tied at ninth place were Dianara Capito and Mary Rafol with a score of 83 percent. They shared the spot with Tisha Allenegui of the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UP), Mariz Borgonos of Canossa College, Vyron Loares of De La Salle University, and Maria Tuazon of UP-Angeles City.

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Former Varsitarian managing editor Nigel Bryant Evangelista was among those who passed the exam.

The national passing rate was 39.29 percent, with a total of 1,290 passers out of 3,283 takers.

Meanwhile, 11 out of 15 Thomasians passed the October licensure examination for psychologists, yielding a 73.33-percent passing rate.

The national passing rate was 66.04 percent, with 35 passers out of 53 examinees.

Education

The University kept its place as the top-performing school in the August LET-elementary level, despite recording a slightly lower 98.57-percent passing rate equivalent to 138 passers out of 140 examinees. Ninth placer Richtelle Pauleene Silva led this year’s batch of Thomasian elementary teachers with a score of 87.60 percent.

Silva shared the spot with Paul Emerson Almontero of the University of Bohol, Barbilou Labial of Cagayan de Oro College, Maria Rina Lazo of Cebu Normal College, Michelle Malapo of Bicol University-Polangui, Jonel Medina of Western Mindanao State University-Zamboanga City, Criscel Mostaza of Bicol University-Daraga, Ivy Rosete of Mariano Marcos State University, and Adeleine Rubio of Catnduanes State University-Virac.

For the LET-secondary level, the University improved to second place this year from fourth place last year after recording an 89.33-percent passing rate, equivalent to 134 passers out of 150 examinees. No Thomasian made it to the top 10 list of passers.

The national passing rate for LET-elementary went up to 35.74 percent (25,301 out of 70,786 examinees) from last year’s 31.18 percent (19,384 out of 62,160 examinees), while the national passing rate for LET-secondary went down to 34.40 percent (26,767 passers out of 77,803 examinees) from last year’s 39.75 percent (25,755 passers out of 64,792 examinees).

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Accounting

Due to a curriculum change in Accountancy, UST’s passing rate went down to 67.53 percent (52 passers out of 77 examinees) in the October CPA board exams from last year’s 89.65 percent (329 passers out of 367 examinees). Also, no Thomasian made it to the list of top 10 passers.

The UST Alfredo M. Velayo College of Accountancy added an additional year in its curriculum. Thus, students who were supposed to graduate last May went to fifth year. As a result, this year’s batch of Thomasian examinees was composed of those who did not graduate or take the test on time, and repeaters.

Accountancy Dean Patricia Empleo said the low passing rate was expected due to the changes in the curriculum and in the Board of Accountancy.

“That is expected considering that this is an off-season batch, meaning we didn’t fill so many graduates this year because we shifted from the four-year curriculum to the five-year BS Accountancy curriculum,” she said in an interview. “From the latest board exam results of 47% in July 2014, the national passing rate dropped to 19%, the first time in the last 10 years. It means that even the Board of Accountancy is on the learning curve,” Empleo said.

The University of the Philippines-Diliman was declared the top-performing school in the accountancy board exam after recording a 100-percent passing rate.

The national passing rate declined to 37.02 percent or 4,123 passers out of 11,137 examinees, compared with last year’s 40.84 percent or 4,246 passers out of 10,396 examinees.

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Engineering

Meanwhile, the University placed fifth on the list of top-performing schools in the October mechanical engineering board exams with a 92.03-percent passing rate or 127 passers out of 138 examinees. This was higher than last year’s 75.21-percent or 91 passers out of 121 examinees.

Tenth placer Nico Andro Capiral led the new batch of Thomasian mechanical engineers with a score of 92.25 percent.

Engineering Dean Philippina Marcelo attributed the higher passing rate to the implementation of the Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) curriculum. Under OBE, “innovative teaching and learning strategies that are apt for engineering education and the close monitoring of student progress are employed to achieve the desired student outcomes,” Marcelo said in an email.

Batangas State University was again the top-performing school with a 98.81-percent passing rate or 83 passers out of 84 examinees.

The national passing rate rose to 77.06 percent (2,960 passers out of 3,841 examinees) from last year’s 68.87 percent (2,201 passers out of 3,196 examinees). Arianne F. Merez and Roberto A. Vergara, Jr.

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