title: Concurrent validity of written and OSCE components of the Canadian dental certification examinations.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the concurrent validity of the National Dental Examining Board of Canada (NDEB) Written Examination and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) by correlating students' scores with their performance in the final year of the D.D.S./D.M.D. program. The subjects of this study were the 2,317 students at nine Canadian dental schools who completed both NDEB examinations between 1995 and 2000. The findings indicate positive correlations (r = 0.43 and r = 0.46, p < .001, for the written and OSCE examinations respectively) between students' examination scores and final year results. Year-to-year and school-to-school variations were minimal. These findings supported the concurrent validity of both NDEB examinations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. jack.gerrow@dal.ca
authors.forename: Jack D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Gerrow
authors.forename: H Joseph
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Marcia A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada; D002568:Certification / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004497:Education, Dental / Q000592:standards; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008005:Licensure, Dental; D015203:Reproducibility of Results