title: Correlation of admission criteria with dental school performance and attrition.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Diagnostic Sciences, University of Florida College of Dentistry, Gainesville 32610-0414, USA. psandowadental.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Pamela L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Sandow
authors.forename: Anne C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.forename: Chuck W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Peek
authors.forename: Frank J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Courts
authors.forename: Ronald E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Watson
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001077:Aptitude Tests; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005431:Florida; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D016015:Logistic Models; D009048:Motor Skills; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012073:Remedial Teaching; D012570:School Admission Criteria; D012575:Schools, Dental; D012586:Science / Q000193:education; D013332:Student Dropouts