Relationship between an annual examination to assess student knowledge and traditional measures of academic performance

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Winter 2001 by Latif, David A, Stull, Richard

Notes

The Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy requires that all students take an annual examination regarding curricular performance in the Doctor of Pharmacy program. The present investigation assessed the convergent validity of this annual multifaceted written examination with other markers of success in fourth-- year pharmacy students. The concept of convergent validity implies that a construct should be correlated with theoretically similar constructs. Convergent validity of the annual examination was examined by correlating the results obtained on the annual examination with other measures thought to be predictors of student performance. Such measures include final grade point average, pre-pharmacy grade point average, PCAT scores, and the possession of an undergraduate degree prior to entering pharmacy school. Results indicated that the annual examination correlated significantly with final grade point average and students' composite PCAT percentile scores, but not with pre-admission grade point average or obtaining an undergraduate degree prior to beginning pharmacy school.

INTRODUCTION

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Commission to Implement Change in Pharmaceutical Education and the Focus Group on Liberalization of the Professional Curriculum defined the need to use outcome measures in designing curricula and assessing student learning(1,2). These committees encouraged ability-based education, whereby curricula are designed so that Doctor of Pharmacy students can demonstrate general and professional outcome abilities. General ability outcomes include such skills as critical thinking, decision-making, communication, ethics, and citizenship, whereas professional abilities are considered general abilities specifically applied to the provision of pharmaceutical care(3).

Using these initiatives as guidelines, Shenandoah University's Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy decided to utilize an annual examination as one component of student assessment to ensure that students are not only developing a knowledge base, but retaining one as well. In addition, results of this examination could be used to identify potential weaknesses in the curriculum, as well as facilitate curricular effectiveness(4). One component of the examination is written. Students are required to take this examination during each of their professional pharmacy years.

The major objective of this project was to assess the convergent validity of the annual multifaceted written examination with other markers of success in fourth-year pharmacy students. The concept of convergent validity implies that a construct should be correlated with theoretically similar constructs(5). The convergent validity of the annual examination was assessed by correlating the obtained results on the annual examination with other measures thought to be predictors of student performance, such as final grade point average, prepharmacy grade point average, PCAT scores, and possessing an undergraduate degree prior to entering pharmacy school.

The remainder of this paper is organized as follows. First, the relevant literature pertaining to academic performance in pharmacy is reviewed. Next, one hypothesis is advanced and the methods and results of the present investigation are discussed. Finally, implications and limitations are discussed, along with potential avenues of future research.

LITERATURE REVIEW

In the health professions, there is general agreement that indicators such as undergraduate grade-point average (GPA), Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PLAT), and the achievement of a four-year degree prior to entering pharmacy school are predictors of academic performance(6-10). Chisholm, et al. reported that the greatest predictors of first-year GPA included pre-pharmacy math/science GPA and the achievement of a four-year college degree prior to entering pharmacy school(6). Hardigan, et al. reported that mathematics GPA, pre-pharmacy cumulative GPA, reading PCAT, faculty interview, and composite PCAT were significant predictors of pharmacy students' first-year GPA(7).

Kelley examined the predictive nature of pre-pharmacy GPA and the PCAT on pharmacy students' first-quarter GPA(8). It was reported that both variables were significant predictors of students' GPAs. Charupatanapong revealed that those students who had lower pre-pharmacy GPAs and who were older were more likely to perform at lower levels of academic performance(9). Meleca reported that significant predictors of academic performance among medical students included undergraduate GPA and scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)(11). Academic performance was measured as students' average academic performances on three National Board of Medical Examiners subject examinations in the basic sciences (anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry). Based on the notion that the annual examination purports to measure similar concepts and outcomes as traditional measures of academic performance, the following hypothesis is advanced: