Gathering evidence of external validity for the Foundations of Medicine examination: a collaboration between the National Board of Medical Examiners and the University of Minho.
BACKGROUND
To gather evidence of external validity for the Foundations of Medicine (FOM) examination by assessing the relationship between its subscores and local grades for a sample of Portuguese medical students.


METHODS
Correlations were computed between six FOM subscores and nine Minho University grades for a sample of 90 medical students. A canonical correlation analysis was run between FOM and Minho measures.


RESULTS
Moderate correlations were noted between FOM subscores and Minho grades, ranging from -0.02 to 0.53. One canonical correlation was statistically significant. The FOM variate accounted for 44% of variance in FOM subscores and 22% of variance in Minho end-of-year grades. The Minho canonical variate accounted for 34% of variance in Minho grades and 17% of the FOM subscore variances.


CONCLUSIONS
The FOM examination seems to supplement local assessments by targeting constructs not currently measured. Therefore, it may contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of basic and clinical sciences knowledge.
Winward
Marcia L
ML
National Board of Medical Examiners, 3750 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. mwinward@nbme.org
De Champlain
André F
AF
Grabovsky
Irina
I
Scoles
Peter V
PV
Swanson
David B
DB
Holtzman
Kathleen Z
KZ
Pannizzo
Lorena
L
Sousa
Nuno
N
Costa
Manuel J
MJ
D004501:Education, Medical; D004521:Educational Measurement; D011174:Portugal; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014495:Universities