Correlation Between the Competency Assessment Course (CUSTAR 425) and Customs Broker Licensure Examination (CBLE) of AIMS BSCA Graduates: Basis in the Enhancement of Pre-Board Competency Assessment Course
Authors: - Mariano Parangue Jr , - Dr. Victor Cajala 
Published: November 2023

It is imperative that examinees of professional licensures shall have certain level of intelligence and wit to pass the licensure examination, while corresponding higher education institutions (HEIs) shall cement the foundation of knowledge in various areas of expertise. The Customs Broker Licensure Examination (CBLE) is one of those examinations facilitated in by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and undertaken by students who have completed a 4-year degree in Bachelor of Science in Customs Administration (BSCA). In the “5-Year AIMS Comparative Report of Customs Brokers Licensure Examination (CBLE) from 2017 to 2022,” there are inconsistencies that were observed in terms of the school’s achievement. More so, although there were years with passing marks, the passing rates, however, are not enough to be considered as an outstanding performance for the institution. Henceforth, by analysis of previous studies, pre-board review courses are important factors in achieving higher passing rates in licensure examinations. This led the proponents to analyze the performance in, and the correlation between, the Competency Assessment Course (CUSTAR 425) and the Customs Broker Licensure Examination (CBLE) of AIMS students from school years 2019, 2021 and 2022.
Descriptive-correlation was used in determining the relationship between the CUSTAR 425 grades and the CBLE results of AIMS students. Outsourced from the Center for Research and Institutional Development (CRID) and the Center for Records and Certification (CRC), the CBLE exam and CUSTAR 425 grades came from sixty-one (61) BSCA graduates from school years 2019, 2021 and 2022. To analyze the data, frequency count, percentage, weighted mean and Pearson r were used.
Based on the findings, majority of the BSCA graduates across the three school years had generally performed in CUSTAR 425 as evidenced by the following: 3 gained an “Excellent” achievement (96 to 100), 13 received a “Very Good” performance (90 to 95), and 24 earned a “Good” performance (84 to 89). However, the CBLE performance can be contextualized between fair to poor as only 27 had passed the licensure examination out of the 61 examinees. More so, although the school made a good passing rate of 56% when compared to the NPP of 46.46% in 2022, and 44% against the 40.08% NPP in 2019, these surpassing rates cannot be treated as good performances as the results did not meet the top performance qualifications of 50 or more examinees per year and with at least 80% overall passing percentage, as per PRC Commission Resolution No. 2017-1058 (C) series of 2017 (“November 2021 Customs Broker Licensure Examination,” 2021). In terms of correlation, no significant relationship exists between CUSTAR 425 and CBLE. Though the computed Pearson r of 0.25, and the p-value of 0.052, indicated a certain degree of relationship, the degree is however weak, hence, not significant. Strong recommendation is hereby given to the Customs Administration (CA) Department of AIMS to revisit and review its Competency Assessment Course (CUSTAR 425) and identify areas for enhancement. Perhaps, the department could ponder on the “five-step revision process” of McGahan (2018)