Correlation Between Students’ Dental Admission Test Scores and Performance on a Dental School's Competency Exam

The aim of this study was to improve understanding of predictors of student success in dental school. A total of 178 student records from the Classes of 2015 and 2016 at a U.S. dental school were reviewed for this retrospective study. The records assessed included admissions files with such elements as scores on the Dental Admission Test (DAT), participation in a pipeline program, and undergraduate transcripts; academic records from the first term of dental school (class rank, course remediation, and withdrawal/dismissal from dental school); and National Board Dental Examination (NBDE) Part I results. The results showed that the DAT Perceptual Ability Test was positively related to performance in the first term of dental school (p=0.030). The DAT Academic Average (p<0.0001) and participation in a pipeline program (p=0.006) were found to be predictors of performance in the lower 25% of the class by end of first term rank. Taking organic chemistry in a summer term during undergraduate study was identified as a predictor variable for dismissal, withdrawal, or entry into a decompressed curriculum (p=0.025). Although this analysis found that traditional predictors of academic success in dental school were associated with strong academic performance in the study sample, it also provided a more complex assessment of factors that may be associated with students who struggle in the first year. As the vast majority of students in this sample successfully completed dental school, the results were not sought to inform admissions criteria, but rather to help academic and student affairs officers identify at‐risk students in order to offer timely intervention.

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confidence: 98%

Elements of Undergraduate Education Related to Students' Academic Performance in the First Year of Dental School

Sabato

Perez

Jiang

et al. 2019

“…However, Park et al found those same cognitive factors showed no statistical significance in a cohort of Harvard School of Dental Medicine DMD students 4 . While studies have found a predictive role for PAT scores with preclinical and clinical success, 5 – 7 others found inconsistency, especially among cohorts with scores of narrow range and high mean 4 , 8 …”

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confidence: 99%

Can Noncognitive Components of Admissions Data Predict Dental Student Performance and Postdoctoral Program Placement?

Price

Park

2018

The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate whether the noncognitive factors of the dental student application, including undergraduate major and interview score, predicted success in the predoctoral program and placement in postdoctoral programs. The study population consisted of 169 students in the Harvard School of Dental Medicine DMD graduating Classes of 2012 through 2016. Noncognitive factors in the dental application, including letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, undergraduate major, and dental school admission interview performance, were collected for the study population. Groups were analyzed for differences among undergraduate majors and any association between postgraduate placement and dental school performance. Dental school performance measures were grades obtained in the third and fourth years in a combination of preclinical and clinical course assessments. The results showed that neither interview score nor undergraduate major was significantly associated with dental school performance or postdoctoral program placement. There was a non‐significant association between interview score and performance in the course Treatment of Active Disease. These results suggest that noncognitive factors of the dental school application offered low yield to predicting predoctoral student performance and residency placements, with interview performance possibly outweighing undergraduate major in selection of successful predoctoral candidates.

“…These findings led the authors to speculate that possibly the “strong emphasis placed on an applicant's ability to demonstrate perceptual ability or hand skills prior to dental school is unfounded. Perhaps students are able to develop sufficient manual dexterity while in dental school.” Carroll and Schuster compared DAT scores to performance on a fourth‐year competency exam that consisted of three written sections testing patient assessment and treatment planning, periodontics, and prosthodontics and three clinical patient care sections involving endodontics, operative dentistry, and periodontics 3 . They found the PAT component score of the DAT was the only statistically significant predictor (p<0.05) of clinical performance at their school.…”

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confidence: 99%

Comparison of Dental Students’ PAT Scores with Their Performance in Preclinical Technique Courses: Identifying the Need for Early Interventions

Schultz-Robins

Markowitz

DeCastro

et al. 2018

The aim of this study was to determine if lower scores on the Perceptual Ability Test (PAT) of the Dental Admission Test (DAT) predicted which dental students required remediation in three preclinical restorative dentistry courses at Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. The academic records of 489 dental students from the graduating Classes of 2010 through 2015 were evaluated. The results showed that, for all three courses (Preclinical General Dentistry I, Preclinical General Dentistry II, and Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics), the remediating students had significantly lower mean PAT scores than did the passing students. A one-unit decrease in a student's PAT score was associated with a 43% increase in the odds of remediating the Preclinical General Dentistry I lab, a 29% increase in the odds of remediating the Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics lab, and a 47% increase in the odds of remediating the Preclinical General Dentistry II lab. The mean PAT score for passing students was 18.84 (standard deviation 2.35), and the mean PAT score for students requiring remediation was 17.03 (standard deviation 2.18). Studies like this can be useful because if students at risk of failing these courses are identified early and appropriate supports are provided, the need for remediation may be reduced if not eliminated.