The significance of the admission interview in predicting studentsʼ performance in dental school

Walker, J.D.; Killip, D E; Fuller, Jessica

doi:10.1097/00001888-198507000-00013

Cited by 13 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Age, sex, resident or nonresident status, undergraduate grade point average, academic score on the DAT, number of undergraduate credits obtained, degree(s) held at time of admission to dental school, and occupation of the student's father were considered for their predictive potential by Scheetz. 23 Personality, anthropometry, and vision scores were employed by Salvendy et al 11 Walker et al 24 examined the use of a formalized admission interview as a means of assessing perceptual skills, while Wood 25 studied the utility of grade point average and overall DAT score as a means of predicting success in preclinical operative classes.…”

Section: Alternative Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Issues Regarding Practical Validity and Gender Bias of the Perceptual Abilities Test (PAT)

Coy¹,

McDougall²,

Sneed³

2003

Journal of Dental Education

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A brief history of the Dental Admission Test is provided, with emphasis on the development and utilization of the Perceptual Abilities Test (PAT). Concerns regarding the predictive utility of the PAT are discussed, and alternative approaches to assessing perceptual and motor skills are examined. To assess the predictive validity of the PAT, scores were collected for 492 students who graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry over a ten-year period. Scores were compared to Preclinical Operative Dentistry practical exam scores for each subject. Correlational analysis indicated the PAT maintains a statistically significant capacity for predicting technical performance in dental school, but the practical significance of the predictive capacity is limited. The results also indicate a gender bias favoring male applicants. Implications regarding continued reliance by admissions committees on the Perceptual Abilities Test are discussed and recommendations are provided, including modification of the PAT, use of the PAT only as a gross screening tool, and discontinuing the use of the PAT in making dental school admission decisions.

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Section: Alternative Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Issues Regarding Practical Validity and Gender Bias of the Perceptual Abilities Test (PAT)

Coy¹,

McDougall²,

Sneed³

2003

Journal of Dental Education

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“…These criteria have been compared with dental school performance measures, including dental school GPA, various clinical and didactic grades, individual and averaged National Dental Board Examinations Part I and Part II (NB-I and NB-II) scores, and individual student communication and technical skill ratings as assessed by faculty and peers. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] In some cases, researchers have concluded that there is a single consistently valid admission crite-rion that can be used to predict dental school performance, in which performance is determined by final dental school GPA. [3][4][5] More often, however, researchers have concluded that two or more admission criteria, in combination, provide a more reliable means of predicting academic success in dental school.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The Perceptual Motor Aptitude Test (PMAT) score and the dental school admission interview score, for example, have been less consistent indicators of dental school performance. 3,[6][7][8][11][12][13][14][17][18][19][20] While earlier researchers have examined the relationships between admission criteria and academic success during dental school, they have largely drawn upon relatively small student populations, and have attempted to correlate isolated admission criteria with a relatively small number of dental school performance measurements. [2][3][4][6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14]19,20 By way of contrast, the authors of the present study have drawn upon a relatively large student population (N = 459) and have attempted to correlate comprehensive admission criteria with a relatively large number of dental school performance measurements.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…3,[6][7][8][11][12][13][14][17][18][19][20] While earlier researchers have examined the relationships between admission criteria and academic success during dental school, they have largely drawn upon relatively small student populations, and have attempted to correlate isolated admission criteria with a relatively small number of dental school performance measurements. [2][3][4][6][7][8][10][11][12][13][14]19,20 By way of contrast, the authors of the present study have drawn upon a relatively large student population (N = 459) and have attempted to correlate comprehensive admission criteria with a relatively large number of dental school performance measurements. In this study, the authors also paid particular attention to the admission criteria of students who either remediated one or more courses or repeated a year of dental school and of those students who either were dismissed or withdrew in poor academic standing or withdrew in good academic standing.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Correlation of Admission Criteria with Dental School Performance and Attrition

Sandow¹,

Jones²,

Peek³

et al. 2002

Journal of Dental Education

103

100

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This study was conducted to provide current information on the relationship between admission criteria and dental school performance, including the association of admission criteria and dental school outcomes such as remediation and attrition. Standard tests of bivariate association and multivariate regression models appropriate for continuous and discrete dependent variables were used to examine the relationship between multiple indicators of admission criteria and dental school performance for six recent classes at the University of Florida College of Dentistry (UFCD). The admission criteria included the undergraduate science grade point average (GPA), undergraduate non-science GPA, Dental Admissions Test (DAT) academic score, Perceptual Motor Aptitude Test (PMAT) score, and admission interview score. Measures of dental school performance were the National Dental Board Examination Part I and Part II (NB-I, NB-II) scores, yearly and final dental school GPA, and academic progress through the UFCD program. In general, most admission criteria were good bivariate indicators of dental school performance. Multivariate analyses indicated that students with higher undergraduate science GPAs and DAT academic scores were more likely to achieve higher NB-I and NB-II scores. The undergraduate science GPA and admission interview score were the most consistent determinants of dental school GPA. Students with lower undergraduate science GPAs, DAT academic scores, and PMAT scores were more likely to remediate, to repeat an academic year, or to be dismissed. Although bivariate differences were observed in several admission criteria of students who remediated one or more courses, repeated an academic year, or were dismissed, only the undergraduate science GPA and the PMAT score were indicators of programmatic progress in the multivariate analysis.Dr. Sandow is Clinical Associate Professor,

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“…Despite its face validity as a measure of non-cognitive abilities, much controversy remains regarding the reliability, predictive validity and cost-effectiveness of the selection interview. Some previous studies found no correlation (19,28,32,33), whilst R€ oding (11), Sandow et al (34), and Mercer & Puddey (35) found positive correlation with academic success. Given the variability across the design (format and structure) of the interviews, it is not surprising that much controversy exists regarding the predictive power of the admission interview.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%