the blue speckled diary: Statement Made by ENGR PERFECTO PADILLA, JR

Practically all My Students in Cebu (both feeling pass or fail) say
NO TO RETAKE!

I contacted engineering schools here and they were very disappointed
with the PRC announcement! School Deans too are signing the petition
that I'll be forwarding to them tomorrow.

Personally, I pray that PRC will minimize the damage by just
accepting their fault and be responsible and professional enough for
their negligence. Victims (examinees) for sure will not remain
silent. They will keep on making noise. This will be very bad for the
Institute and for the country. Everybody loses.
Why not PRC just admit that they were negligent in Cagayan de Oro;
retract the RETAKE ORDER; put on hold the result of only the 2
students caught in possession of cellphones (examinees caught in
possession of cellphones) and their respective boardmates/barkada. ;
penalize EXAMINEES base on clear PRC rules when proven guilty; but
for the rest release the result soonest? Those are the simplest and
most HONORABLE things PRC can and MUST DO!

WAS THERE LEAKAGE OF QUESTIONS?
None! You don't need a cellphone if the questions already leaked out.

WAS THE CHEATING MASSIVE?
We conducted an INDEPENDENT investigation/ inquiry. The cheating was
not massive! It only involved a handful of students; namely, the one
caught with 21correct of 30answers and take note of this, SOME of HIS
BOARDMATES/SCHOOLMA TES
How were the answers sent to Him? One of their colaborators who
finished the exam ahead of them sent the answers to him by text. That
explains why only 21 out of 30 were correct. Either the examinee-
sender is not a very brilliant student, or he intentionally sent
correct answers equivalent only to passing (70%) (para hindi sya
agrabyado) PRC can easily check the accuracy of this information by
asking NBI to interrogate T*****and J****** and their respective
boardmates/barkada.

IS THE RESULT IN GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING STATISTICAL IMPROBABLE?
Let me explain this very clearly and CORRECTLY!
Statistics is a record or records of set of scores that already
happened in the PAST.
You ask all veteran instructors of the more than 1000 colleges,
schools and
universities in the Philippines if they never had at least an exam
where 1/10
of their students got perfect score. 1/4 got above 90% score. 1/2 got
above
70% rating. They certainly had at least one exam with such
statistics. That
means, the record set by CE examinees in the Nov 2007 Board exam is
not
new, nor seldom.
Probability is a rational number from 0 to 1 which is the numerical
expression of the
strength of possible occurence of an outcome.
It means negative number, numbers more than "1" , irrational numbers
like
1/pi and 1/e cannot be values of probability.
But 1/10, 1/4, and 1/2 (ratio of students who got 100%, above 90%,
and above
70% respectively in the subject Geotechnical Engineering) are all
rational
numbers between "0" and "1".
Thus, while such set of score may be unfrequent or worse, rare, but
DEFINITELY, they are VERY MUCH STATISTICALLY AND MATHEMATICALLY
PROBABLE.

I know that Dr Ibe, former acting commissioner and now PRC consultant
in test construction and statistics, will agree with me that "an exam
in which a lot of students fail or get too many low scores could be
due to the following reasons: 1)Irrelevant Questions, 2) Unexpected
question 3) too difficult questions, 4) too short a time allotted,
and 5) too many WEAK Students 6) POOR TEACHERS.
None of the five reasons above is present in the SAID SUBJECT.
1. Questions are RELEVANT: Those are very much just fluid mechanics
and geotechnical engineering.
2. They are all EXPECTED QUESTIONS. All are mere repetitions of
previous Exams by the same examiner except for the given.
3. Most students even undergrads will agree that ALL questions are
EASY
4. Four(4) Hours as usual is so much more than enough for 27
questions of such degree of difficulty.
5. If there is no way to prove that the examinees in the said board
exam are better, likewise, NO WAY to prove that too many are weak.
6. Same logic in number 5
THUS, THERE IS NO REASON WHY A LOT OF STUDENTS WILL GET LOW SCORES IN
SAID SUBJECT.

On the other hand, possible reasons for a set of very high turnout of
very high scores are the following: 1)Very manageable/easy
Questions , 2) Expected/Repeated Questions, 3) Very ample time
allotted, 4) Too many Inteligent students, or 5) there is a MASSIVE
leakage!

Numbers 1,2, and 3 are very much satisfied by the exam in the subject
of "Fluid Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering" .

You don't need Number 4 to get high turnout of high scores if Numbers
1 to 3 are satisfied.

To say that there WAS a MASSIVE leakage/cheating is NOT JUST
IMPROBABLE. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE!! !!

If there was a leakage, CHEATERS DON'T NEED A CELL PHONE. They will
rather have a hard copy or just memorize the answers.
In Manila, Baguio City, cell phones were collected by proctors and
returned only after the exam.
In Cebu, cell phones were collected, examinees were bodily searched,
pockets were reversed, socks were removed and inspected, shoes were
asked to be removed for inspection. That's how strict the
implementation of exam in Cebu was.

While Cheating is probable, MASSIVE ORGANIZED CHEATING IS NOT

AUGUST 2002 MARINE DECK Board exam as a precedent?
In the abovementioned Board Exam, a hardcopy of answers (98 of 100 OF
THEM CORRECT) was found in the possession of at least one examinee!
The subject with an unusually high scores and high turnout of passing
scores was in that subject where the said answer key was confiscated.
Obviously, this case is not parallel to what happened in Nov 2007 CE
Board Exam and thus, cannot be the basis for RETAKE ORDER.

2006 NURSING BOARD EXAM
In the abovementioned Board exam,actual Questions in the Board exam
already leaked out before the actual exam. There were no such in the
CE Board exam.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. THERE WAS NO LEAKAGE OF QUESTIONS THAT HAPPENED!

2. CHEATING WAS COMMITTED BY ONLY A HANDFUL OF EXAMINEES ONLY IN
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY AND WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE CONSISTENT
NEGLIGENCE OF PRC OFFICIALS THERE.

3. THE RATING IN THE SUBJECT OF "FLUID MECHANICS & GEOTECHNICAL
ENGINEERING" IS STATISTICALLY VERY MUCH PROBABLE.

4. STOP THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE OF THE EXAMINEES BY
IMMEDIATELY RELEASING THE RESULT OF THE EXAM SOONEST

5. DEFER EXAM RESULTS OF ONLY STUDENTS CAUGHT WITH THEIR CELL PHONE
AND THEIR RESPECTIVE BOARDMATES/BARKADAS /SCHOOLMATES

6. PRC MAKE A PUBLIC ADMISSION OF THEIR NEGLIGENCE IN cAGAYAN DE ORO
CITY. This is to clarify things that our exam was marred by
Nationwide massive leakage/cheating

7. PRC AND OUR RESPECTED BOARD OF EXAMINERS WHO SIGNED THE RESOLUTION
FOR RETAKE MAKE A PUBLIC apology and ANNOUNCEMENT OF THEIR ERROR : IN
PRONOUNCING THE RETAKE ORDER DUE TO THEIR CARELESS, HURRIED, AND
WRONG ASSESSMENT OF THE SITUATION. This is MANDATORY if we are to
preserve the integrity of our profession, and our country. Doing
recommendations 6 and 7 is necessary so as not to strengthen
the "filipinos are cheaters" international impression brought about
by the nursing board exam scandal.

THIS ACTION WAS STARTED, LETS JOIN HANDS TO FINISH IT!

Engr. Perfecto B. Padilla Jr.