Association between scores in high school, aptitude and achievement exams and early performance in health science college.
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This retrospective study was carried out to assess the correlation between admission criteria to health science colleges, namely, final high school grade and Saudi National Aptitude and Achievement exams, and early academic performance in these colleges. The study included 91 male students studying in the two-year pre-professional program at the King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Records of these students were used to extract relevant information and their academic performance (based on the grade point average achieved at the end of the first semester of the pre-professional program), which were analytically studied. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the associations between the different scores. SPSS statistical program (version 12.0) was used for data analyses. We found a strong correlation between the academic performance and the Achievement Exam, Aptitude Exam and high school final grade, with Pearson Correlation Coefficients of 0.96, 0.93, 0.87, respectively. The Saudi National Achievement Exam showed the most significant correlation. Our results indicate that academic performance showed good correlation with the admission criteria used, namely final high school grade, Saudi National Aptitude and Achievement Exams. (+info)
Personality types and performance on aptitude and achievement tests: implications for osteopathic medical education.
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CONTEXT: Several studies have shown that the personality types of medical and dental students affect performance on aptitude and achievement examinations. However, such studies are lacking in osteopathic medical literature. OBJECTIVE: To determine if personality type is associated with performance on aptitude and achievement tests taken by osteopathic medical students. METHODS: The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) was used to determine the mental-function pairs-sensing-thinking, intuition-thinking, sensing-feeling, or intuition-feeling-of osteopathic medical students at Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, Ill. Results were analyzed with participants' scores on the Medical College Admissions Test and the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 1. RESULTS: A total of 295 osteopathic medical students completed the MBTI, but 32 (11%) were excluded because they did not meet the study criteria. Among the remaining 263 participants, no personality types were associated with high or low scores on the Medical College Admissions Test (P=.229). However, participants in the intuition-feeling group had statistically significant lower scores on COMLEX-USA Level 1 (P=.002). CONCLUSION: The differences in scores obtained on COMLEX-USA Level 1 were statistically significant when students were identified by personality type. This finding suggests that using the MBTI during training could enhance learning and improve academic performance in osteopathic medical schools. (+info)
Family-school connections and the transitions of low-income youths and English language learners from middle school to high school.
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Developing a tool for systematic inclusion of non-academic factors in dental school admissions: towards building diversity in the dental workforce.
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This retrospective study aimed to determine the ability of a self-designed evaluation instrument to identify applicants who should be invited for an interview and to assess applications including non-academic factors in a consistent and systematic manner. The instrument was constructed using information culled from the American Dental Education Association Associated American Dental Schools Application Service (ADEA AADSAS) applications including academic (DAT, GPA) and non-academic qualifications (work experience, volunteer and extracurricular activities, rural and ethnic background, essays). Weights were assigned to each item assessed. Using applications received during the 2006 and 2007 admissions cycles, the instrument identified who should have been invited for interview. Descriptive statistics and specificity and sensitivity tests were conducted. The instrument allowed for a systematic quantitative assessment of non-academic factors that was part of the overall evaluation of applicants. Results show differences in non-academic scores of minority compared to non-minority applicants, males compared to females, and those who were offered interviews compared to those not interviewed. It is possible that some applicants who were not offered interviews could have gained a chance to be looked at more closely on a second round of review if non-academic factors were considered. (+info)