New Dentists Board Exam Grading System

The Resolution implements the statutory requirement in Section 16, Article III of Republic Act No. 9484, which provides that the licensure examination consists of written and practical tests and that passing requires a weighted average of at least seventy-five percent (75%) with no rating below fifty percent (50%) in any subject.
The Resolution aligns with the Board’s prior policy in Board Resolution No. 07, Series of 2006, which started requiring passing the Theoretical Phase before taking the Practical Phase.
The Resolution reflects the Board’s consultation with the Philippine Association of Dental Colleges (PADC, Inc.) before adoption of the grading system.

To pass the Board licensure examination for dentists, an examinee must obtain a general weighted average rating of seventy-five percent (75%).
No subject grade in either phase may be below fifty percent (50%) for an examinee to qualify for passing.
The theoretical and practical phases are weighted as follows: 60% for the theoretical phase and 40% for the practical phase.
The weighted general weighted average rating is computed after consideration of the ratings obtained in both phases.

An examinee must pass the theoretical phase first before being allowed to sit in the practical phase.
Passing the theoretical phase requires a general weighted average rating of no less than seventy-five percent (75%).
In the theoretical phase, an examinee must have no grade below fifty percent (50%) in any subject to be allowed to proceed to the practical phase.
The examinee’s practical phase general weighted average with no grade below fifty percent (50%) is used in arriving at the required overall passing general weighted average of 75%.

An examinee must take the scheduled practical phase immediately after passing the theoretical phase.
If the examinee fails to take the scheduled practical phase, the examinee is given the opportunity to take any of the consecutive three (3) practical phase-schedules.
If the examinee fails to take any practical phase-schedules for four (4) consecutive examinations, the examinee’s passed theoretical phase is subject to cancellation or forfeiture.
After forfeiture or cancellation of the passed theoretical phase under the four-consecutive-examinations rule, the examinee must take another or new theoretical phase.

The Resolution references the earlier sequencing rule under Board Resolution No. 277, Series of 1989, which provided that:
- an examinee who has passed the theoretical phase could take only the practical phase, and
- an examinee who has passed the practical phase could take only the theoretical phase.
If an examinee passes the retaken phase under the circumstances addressed by the Resolution’s forfeiture/cancellation framework, the examinee is deemed to have passed the Board licensure examination for dentists.

The Resolution is implemented in the December 2008 Board licensure examination for dentists and in subsequent Board licensure examinations.
A copy of the Resolution is to be circulated in dentistry schools/colleges/universities through the Philippine Association of Dental Colleges, Inc. (PADC).
The circulation is for the guidance and information of dentistry graduates.