A New Method for Setting Standard in Medical Education, Applying Previous Year Cumulative GPA

Abstract

This study tested a new method of standard setting which does not need judges’ decision.
 Objectives: (1) to compare the minimum-passing-level ( MPL) of the new standard setting approach with that of a traditional method (Angoff’s Method); and (2) to find the best borderline group by analyzing five ranges of the students’ previous year’s Cumulative Grade Point Average (cGPA). Method: A range of previous year GPA around 2 was used to probe borderline group, the mean of which was applied as cut-off to decide pass and fail. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC) analyses were applied to investigate the agreement between the pass/fail cut-scores of the new approach and Angoff’s Method.
 Result: The pass/fail cut-score of new method highly agreed MPL of of Angoff’s Method: with AUC ranging from 0.91 to 1.0 in all analyses.
 Conclusion: This new approach would be an alternative to Angoff’s Method when subject-matter experts are not available or in order to avoid the making of subjective decisions by these experts.
 Key word: MPL, pass and fail, medical education, measurement, standard setting

Converting cumulative grade point average to an equivalent percentage value based on a fuzzy logic

“…Your GPA is basically the only indicator of how successful you are, and whether you have done well in the history of your graduation, in your university education. If you are clearly conscious of your passage and excellence in your classes, your GPA offers a wider indicator of your overall skills and ratings [3].…”