title: Reliability of didactic grades to predict practical skills in an undergraduate dental college in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This longitudinal study was aimed to investigate the association between didactic grades and practical skills for dental students and whether didactic grades can reliability predict the dental students' practical performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Didactic and practical grades for graduates from the Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, between the years 2009 and 2011 were collected. Four courses were selected: Dental Anatomy, Operative Dentistry, Prosthodontics, and Orthodontics. Pearson product-moment correlation analyses between didactic and practical scores were conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was only a significant correlation between didactic and practical scores for the Dental Anatomy course (P<0.001). There was also a significant correlation between all four subjects in the didactic scores (P<0.001). Only the scores of male students showed a significant correlation in the Operative Dentistry course (P<0.001). There were no correlations between Orthodontic grades. Moreover, a poor degree of reliability was found between didactic and practical scores for all subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on the findings of this study, the relationship between didactic grades and practical performance is course specific. Didactic grades do not reliably predict the students' practical skills. Measuring practical performances should be independent from didactic grading.
authors: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Khalid H
authors: KH
authors: Zawawi
authors: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Ahmed R
authors: AR
authors: Afify
authors: Department of Operative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Mohammed K
authors: MK
authors: Yousef
authors: Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Hisham I
authors: HI
authors: Othman
authors: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
authors: Ayman A
authors: AA
authors: Al-Dharrab
keywords: correlation study; dental education; dental students; practical performance