Relationships between Admissions Requirements and Pre-clinical and Clinical Performance in a Distributed Veterinary Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to assess the relationships between knowledge-based admission requirements and pre-clinical and clinical performance in a distributed model of veterinary education that uses problem-based learning as the main instruction method in the first two years of the curriculum; second, to compare pre-clinical and clinical performance with performance on the Program for the Assessment of Veterinary Education Equivalence (PAVE) exam. Admissions data including overall GPA, prerequisite GPA, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score on the Analytical, Analytical Writing, Quantitative, and Verbal sections), veterinary school performance data (GPA for pre-clinical and clinical years), and performance PAVE (taken at the end of second year) were analyzed for two classes (N = 155, 85.8% women and 14.2% men). Overall GPA, prerequisite GPA, and GRE Quantitative and Analytical scores were the best predictors for pre-clinical (years 1 and 2) performance (R = 0.49, 23.5% of the variance), GRE Analytical score was the best predictor for year 3 (pre-clinical and clinical) performance (R = 0.25, 6.3% of the variance), GRE Quantitative score was the best predictor for PAVE performance (R = 0.27, 7.5% of the variance), and GRE Analytical score was the best predictor for clinical performance (year 4; R = 0.21, 4.4% of the variance). PAVE scores correlated with GRE Quantitative scores (r = 0.27, p <.01) and veterinary school performance, with higher correlations in the pre-clinical years (rs = 0.67-0.36, p < .01), providing evidence of convergent validity for the PAVE exam.

Correlation of Pre-Veterinary Admissions Criteria, Intra-Professional Curriculum Measures, AVMA-COE Professional Competency Scores, and the NAVLE

“…The most commonly used criteria for admission to veterinary school are calculations of the pre-veterinary grade point average (GPA), standardized tests, the personal interview, veterinaryrelated experience, personal recommendations or evaluations, and an essay or narrative. 1 Several previous studies have demonstrated correlation between undergraduate GPA, Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores, performance in veterinary school, and even performance on the NAVLE, but these conclusions are often limited to the venue and time period of the study. [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Weight allocated to each of these admissions components varies among veterinary schools and often varies from year to year within each veterinary school.…”

Success at Veterinary School: Evaluating the Influence of Intake Variables on Year-1 Examination Performance

“…This study showed that some intake variables, primarily previous academic history, were associated with subsequent academic success or otherwise in the first year at veterinary school. In the veterinary setting, most studies show a link between prior attainment and performance in the early years 9,11,12 with fewer showing a link with performance in later or final years. 7 This study encompassed three entry cohorts (2007, 2008 and 2009); this had the benefit of generating a large sample size for analysis and allowed the identification of any particular cohort effects.…”

“…GPA was also found to be predictive of performance in the first two (preclinical) years at a US veterinary school. 12 In terms of the best pre-requisite subjects to facilitate veterinary undergraduate training, there is limited objective published information. Muzyamba et al 13 in a study in the UK, found that A-Level results in Chemistry, Biology and a third subject were predictive of performance in the early years of the veterinary course.…”

Student selection to a rural veterinary school. 2: predictors of student performance and attrition

“…Although highly significant (P < 0.001), it should be noted that the strength of association is relatively weak, meaning that other factors, such as motivation and study strategies, 17,18 are also likely to be important determinants of academic success. It is well recognised that pre-tertiary academic performance predicts university academic results, 11,19,20 although the strength of this association diminishes over time, 12 such that prior academic performance is less a predictor of performance in the clinical years. 21 Accordingly, the association between pre-entry academic success and clinical performance (KSA) was less than was observed for the GPA in the current study.…”

“…As the exceptionally high academic entry requirements for competitive professional degree programs like veterinary science and medicine may have the unintended consequence of selecting against graduates interested in rural practice, it has been suggested that the setting of lower academic entry thresholds might further enhance efforts to bolster the rural workforce . However, as pre‐entry academic performance is widely recognised as a strong predictor of tertiary performance, the effect of any such changes on the ability of selected students to successfully complete their degree must be carefully considered.…”