title: 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.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: National Board of Medical Examiners, 3750 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. mwinward@nbme.org
authors.forename: Marcia L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Winward
authors.forename: André F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: De Champlain
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Grabovsky
authors.forename: Peter V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Scoles
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Swanson
authors.forename: Kathleen Z
authors.initials: KZ
authors.lastname: Holtzman
authors.forename: Lorena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pannizzo
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Manuel J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D004501:Education, Medical; D004521:Educational Measurement; D011174:Portugal; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014495:Universities