PubMed · 7353995
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1980-01-15. Testing legislation dead for now.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7353995/
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PURPOSE: To provide predictive information as an initial screening device for admission decisions, generalizable to the population of students opting for the Independent Study Program (ISP) at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. METHOD: A stepwise multiple-regression technique was used to generate predictor-criterion relationships. A priority code was developed as an applicant screening device. The code is a numeric value based on a combination of applicant grade-point average (GPA) and Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores that provides a prediction of first-year performance in medical school. The study sample consisted of the 596 first-year students in the ISP track from 1980 through 1989. The measure of their academic performances was the average score on three National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject ("shelf") examinations in the basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry). RESULTS: The largest multiple correlations were found between averaged scores on the NBME subject examinations and undergraduate GPAs (R = 34.20; F = 16.79; p = .0001) and scores on the MCAT Biology Knowledge (R = 13.24; F = 47.64; p = .0001), MCAT Chemistry Knowledge (R = 7.86; F = 17.39; p = .0001), and MCAT Skills Analysis: Quantitative (R = 1.39; F = 3.93; p = .0479). CONCLUSION: The predictive value of traditional predictors of preclinical academic performance was established for the nontraditional program at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. Admission officers at other schools may find the priority code helpful as a sorting tool. It may further serve as an "early warning" system for students with marginal academic preparation.
The authors characterize the demographic changes that transpired with the decline and rise of the medical school applicant pool over the past decade, and describe the variations in academic antecedents, attrition, and graduation rates of students matriculated during that time. Data over the ten-year cycle, derived from the AAMC's Student and Applicant Information Management System (SAIMS), were examined in the context of published education and employment statistics. The contraction and expansion of the applicant pool were related to changes in the number and pattern of undergraduate majors and to changes in the employment conditions for college-educated youth. Furthermore, a significant part of the variations in size of the applicant pool is an artifact of changes in the number of repeat applications. Matriculants' pre-medical grades and MCAT scores dropped slightly during the period of applicant decline, and rebounded as admission committees were able to exercise greater selection when the pool expanded. The attrition of medical students rose and fell during this time, but the changes were small and of little discrete influence on graduation rates during the period. The downturn and rebound in applications over the past decade appear to be more related to cycles in the employment market for college graduates than to applicants' perceptions of unfavorable/favorable conditions in medical education and practice.
PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between critical thinking skills as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and success during the first two years of medical school. METHOD: The WGCTA was administered to 92 students participating in orientation for the class of 1994. Total scores and subtest scores were calculated for each student. Scores from the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) subtests, undergraduate grade-point averages (GPAs), gender, race-ethnicity, and other premedical data were obtained from admission files. Measures of student success in medical school included the final numerical scores of preclinical courses, preclinical GPA, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 total score, course remediations, and alterations in schedules such as reduced loads or repeated years. Pearson correlation and the t-test were used in the analysis of data. RESULTS: WGCTA scores correlated best with MCAT scores for reading skils (r = .57) and quantitative skills (r = .40). Significant correlations were found between WGCTA scores and final scores for nearly all preclinical courses; however, the only correlations reaching .40 were for Behavioral Science 1 and Biometrics. Correlations between WGCTA scores and first- and second-year GPAs and scores on the USMLE Step 1 were between .33 and .36. The WGCTA scores for students who had extended time to meet course requirements or altered their curricula were significantly lower than those of students who neither took extended time nor changed their academic schedules. CONCLUSION: Critical thinking skills as measured by the WGCTA are moderately predictive of academic success during the preclinical years of medical education.