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IntroductionThe development of early self‐assessment skills and determining its correlation with academic performance could provide evidence to alter dental curricula. The aim of this retrospective study was to examine the relationships between students' early self‐assessment ability in waxing and three different evaluation methods (waxing assessment, written examinations, and tooth identification examination) in a dental anatomy course.Materials and MethodsThe dental anatomy scores during the academic years of 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 from two cohorts of second‐year pre‐doctoral dental students at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine were analyzed. Regression analyses were completed to assess the relationship between all evaluation methods.ResultsThere was a statistically significant correlation between self‐assessment ability and the waxing assessment but no significant correlation between self‐assessment ability and the other evaluation methods.ConclusionOur results showed that the introduction of self‐assessments in dental anatomy waxing was correlated with successful waxing skills. Furthermore, a relevant finding is that students who received higher classifications were also capable of doing better self‐assessments. These findings provide evidence that impacts dental curricula.

The purpose of the newly implemented ePortfolio assessment program was to help students develop self-directed learning and reflection skills in clinical education and professional values including ethics, professionalism and conscientiousness. Development of higher-level cognitive skills through a student-centered learning modality could ultimately promote reflective learners who will continue to learn throughout their profession. Student self-assessment skills and self-learning plans were captured during the initial patient care exposure in the second year of clinical education using an ePortfolio platform in Canvas (Salt Lake City, UT) learning management system. This new learning methodology can be useful in measuring non-traditional competencies, such as ethics, professionalism and conscientiousness and provide an opportunity for students to become reflective learners. Leveraging this new tool could contribute toward creating reflective practitioners who are competent in ethics and professionalism and self-assessment skills.