title: Student selection: are the school-leaving A-level grades in biology and chemistry important?
abstract: This study determined the relationships of grades in A-level biology and chemistry with examination success or failure during the medical course. By inspection of medical student records, A-level grades at entry to medical school and examination performance were obtained for 128 (91%) of the students who sat their final MBBCh examination at the University of Wales College of Medicine in June 1988. The majority, 92 (72%), completed their medical school careers with no professional examination failures; 15 failed examinations just in the period up to 2nd MB; 11 failed examinations in the clinical period only and 10 failed examinations in both periods. Whereas grade achieved in A-level chemistry was not associated with undergraduate examination performance, students with a grade A or B in A-level biology were less likely to have problems than the others (21% compared with 47%; the difference of 26% has a 95% confidence interval of 7% to 44%). Specifically, there appears to be a strong relationship between a low grade in biology and difficulties in the preclinical examinations. Moreover, for those who have difficulties at this stage, this association continues later in the course.
authors.affiliation: Dean's Office, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Webster
mesh_terms: D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012577:Schools, Medical; D014852:Wales