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Abstracts Online Below, you will find a full abstract from the association's official journal, The Advisor. If you are a member of NAAHP, and an abstract piques your interest, please feel free to request a full copy of the article free of charge from the national office, c/o Jerolyn Attwood If you are not yet a member, please
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to The Advisor. MCAT/GRE Testing The Predictive Validity of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test
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Scores Evelyn W. Jackson, Ph.D., Beth Dawson-Saunders, Ph.D., and James Jackson, Ph.D. Abstract — Admissions officers and pre-professional advisors are often consulted for advice about how a student may improve his/her MCAT Skills Analysis: Reading (SA: Reading) score. To establish an estimated score on the SA:Reading subtest, a student may take the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) which yields Vocabulary subtest, Comprehension subtest and Total scores. A positive correlation of .69 was found between the SA:Reading scaled score and the NDRT total score for 118 students in the Medical Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP) at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Regression equations to predict SA:Reading scores yielded similar results for the NDRT Vocabulary subtest alone (R=.67). The Vocabulary subtest for Forms A,B,C and D takes only 10 minutes to administer and may be considered a rapid and efficient measure of the needed information. A set of NDRT scores could be an indication of a need for improvement of reading skills before or after the MCAT is taken. V5-1-2
Helping Students Write the MCAT Essay Evelyn W. Jackson, Ph.D. and Carla Graham, M.A. With the announcement that the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) will feature a 45-minute essay subtest beginning Spring 1985, pre-professional advisors may find that they are besieged with queries from premed students who are anxious to prepare for the essay. Those students who are able to develop long-range plans will find that they will be able to take more than the minimum number of composition courses which are required for their degree. Other students may find that 1) they don’t have the opportunity to take enough course work to make a difference or, 2) their degree program requirements make it prohibitive to take on any more course work. While we are not advocating any quick-fix strategies, there are some guidelines worth sharing with students who hope to improve their writing skills outside of or in addition to regular composition courses. V5-3-3
Predictive Validity of the MCAT as a Function of Undergraduate Institution Carter Zeleznik, Ph.D., Mohammadreza Hojat, Ph.D., and J. Jon Veloski Abstract — The question of whether the predictive ability of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) differed for students from different undergraduate institutions was addressed by the authors in the study reported here. Two groups of students were studied: group 1 comprised 1,859 students who entered Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University between 1964 and 1977, and group 2 consisted of 999 students who entered the college between 1978 and 1982. Ten undergraduate institutions with at least 20 matriculants in each group were selected for analysis. Group 1 students had taken the old version and group 2 the new version of the MCAT. Scores on the Science subtest of the old MCAT were used as the predictor for group 1, and scores on the Science Problems subtest of the new MCAT were used as the predictor for group 2. First-year and second-year medical school grade point averages and total scores on the Part I and Part II examinations of the National Board of Medical Examiners were the performance measures used. Validity coefficients were derived of the predictive value of the MCAT scores at each of the 10 undergraduate institutions. Striking differences were found in validity coefficients among these institutions. These differences raise questions about the predictive validity of the MCAT when scores for different undergraduate institutions are combined in deriving the coefficients. Possible explanations, implications for admissions decisions and validity studies, and limitations of these findings are discussed. V7-1-2
Use of a Medical Reasoning Aptitude Test to Help Predict Performance in Medical School Nu V. Vu, Ph.D., Beth Dawson-Saunders, Ph.D., and Howard S. Barrows, M.D. Abstract — A medical reasoning aptitude test (MRAT) was designed to assess aptitude for clinical problem-solving in medical school applicants. The purpose of the study reported here was to determine whether the information provided by this test, when used in conjunction with college grade point averages (GPAs) and scores on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), would improve the prediction of medical school performance. Specifically, the authors investigated the incremental predictive value of the MRAT relative to students’ overall performance in medical school and, more specifically, to their knowledge and clinical reasoning during preclinical years and clinical performance during the clerkship year. This last finding is especially useful, since few other tests have provided that information. On the basis of the preliminary findings, the authors propose further use and validation of the MRAT. V7-2-2
The Effect of Commercial Coaching Courses on Performance on the MCAT Robert F. Jones, Ph.D. Abstract — Two studies on the relationship between taking a commercial coaching course and performance on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) are reported. In both studies, one based on repeating examinees and another based on first-time examinees, differences in scores favoring coached examinees were found on the Science Knowledge and Science Problems subtests. The results on the Skills Analysis: Quantitative subtest were mixed, while neither study found differences between the two groups in scores on the Skills Analysis: Reading subtest. The analyses further revealed that the differences in scores on the Science Knowledge and Science Problems subtests were less pronounced for examinees with low scores on the Skills Analysis: Reading and Skills Analysis: Quantitative subtests, examinees with very low or very high undergraduate grade point averages, and examinees from very selective undergraduate colleges. The substantive importance of the differences was also explored. The coaching effect was estimated to increase an average student’s probability of acceptance by five percentage points. The results suggest that coaching for the MCAT has a limited effect that supports rather than undermines the validity of the test. V7-3-1
Predicting MCAT Examination Scores from the ACT Beth Dawson-Saunders, Ph.D., Rosalie E.A. Paiva, Ph.D., and Deane R. Doolen, M.A. Abstract — Acceptable performance on the MCAT examination is necessary for acceptance into medical school; therefore, students planning a career in medicine and their advisors would benefit by being able to predict performance on this examination. The present study examined the validity of the ACT examination as such a predictor, using as subjects 197 undergraduate students at a large Midwestern University. The results indicated that the ACT composite score was strongly related to MCAT performance, although the predictability was enhanced by inclusion of information on the student’s grade point average in science subjects: multiple RS ranged from .57 to .62. Contingency table analysis indicated that 80 percent of applicants who scored 25 or higher on the ACT composite had a score of 8 or higher on the MCAT science problems subtest. Used appropriately, these results can serve to suggest whether a student needs to take remedial course work before taking the MCAT examination. V7-2-1
Use of MCAT Data in Admissions Karen J. Mitchell, Ph.D. Abstract — In Spring 1986, medical school admissions personnel were surveyed on institutional admissions practices and the use of Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) data in student selection. Admissions officers listed sources of information considered in processing applications. Pre-admission variables accorded high importance include: grade point average; quality of degree-granting institutions; letters of evaluation; interview ratings; MCAT; extracurricular involvement; health-related work; and breadth/difficulty of course work. Variables judged of medium importance include: graduate work; AMCAS or supplemental narratives; demographic factors; and research experience. Respondents divided the 15-point MCAT scale into exemplary, acceptable, and unacceptable performance ranges. Responses varied widely among institutions. The mean response for the bottom of the acceptable range was seven and the mean for the beginning of the exemplary range was 11. In considering individual MCAT area scores, 34 percent of admissions officers regard the six scores individually and equally; 51 percent weight areas in curricula-relevant ways. Forty-three percent sum or average scores with equal weights at some point. Fifty-two percent compare MCAT to course enrollment/performance on transcripts. Thirty-one percent use MCAT to adjust grade point averages across institutions. V8-2-1
Understanding the Verbal Reasoning Section of the 1991 MCAT Evelyn W. Jackson, Ph.D. The 1991 Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), an attempt to measure higher level thinking skills, is an unknown entity to most advisors and students at this time. The purpose of this article is to explain the Verbal Reasoning section of the 1991 MCAT for advisors of premedical students. Pertinent information about the test is available in the MCAT Student Manual published by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Reading the explanation and practicing the items in the Student Manual are good first steps for advisors and students to take. Since, however, some of the terminology in the Student Manual may be ambiguous or insufficient in providing direction, the following explanation is offered to provide clarity and further assistance. V11-2-2
Score Reporting for the 1991 Medical College Admission Test Karen J. Mitchell, Ph.D., and Robert Haynes, Ph.D. In December 1988, 1 16-member advisory panel, made up of medical school deans, basic science faculty, clinical scientists, medical education researchers, medical students, pre-medical advisers, and practicing physicians, completed a full-scale review of the format, content, and score-reporting system of the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). The advisory panel’s recommendations will shape the MCAT to be introduced in 1991. Presented here are data the panel used in deciding to keep the score scale for the upcoming MCAT. Survey data on student selection practices in U.S. and Canadian medical schools and acceptance information for 1987 applicants showed that medical schools used the scores differently within each school and between the schools in deciding whom to admit. The data demonstrated the value of the current reporting system and led the advisory panel to recommend retention of the 15-point MCAT score scale in 1991. V11-4-3
Predicting Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Scores Using Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Scores S.Q. Lafi, J.B. Kaneene and J.B. Tasker Introduction — A combination of subjective and objective criteria are used to identify qualified applicants to veterinary colleges. Among the many objective criteria that have recently been used in several colleges of veterinary medicine are standardized examination scores. There are several standardized examinations that students usually take for admission, including the Veterinary Aptitude Test (VAT), the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). These examinations are used to evaluate the academic potential of students in a professional program. The relationship between MCAT scores and the students’ performance during the first two years of the veterinary medicine curriculum was evaluated.1,2 It was concluded that the MCAT was a significant predictor of performance as measured by grades attained during the first four semesters of the professional program. More recently, several investigators studied the association between MCAT scores and the standardized examinations that students take for admission to undergraduate college, such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT),3 and the American College Test (ACT),4 In these studies it was concluded that the SAT and the ACT are significant predictors of the MCAT. One of the requirements for admission in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University is that each applicant has to include either the MCAT or the GRE scores with their application. No study, however, has been done regarding the prediction of MCAT scores using GRE scores. Because many potential applicants may take only one of the two tests, it is important to propose a model for predicting MCAT scores from GRE scores, and vice versa. The objective of this study, therefore, was to provide a model(s) for such predictions. V12-1-2
The Anatomy and Physiology of the MCAT Aftab Hassan, Ph.D. Introduction — Are you well informed about the specific policies and procedures relating to the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), given by the Association of American Medical Colleges (MCAT)? This article highlights test procedures, strategic preparation tools, and test-taking skills to help you understand the MCAT better in order to achieve high scores on this highly competitive test. V16-2-2
Correlates of MCAT Performance in a Postbaccalauraeate Population of Premedical Students George Delat\hunty, Ph.D. Abstract — The purpose of this study was to examine correlations between traditional indicators of academic performance, SAT scores and grade point averages, and MCAT scores in a population of postbaccalaureate premedical students. Data was collected from postbaccalaureate students at Goucher College from the academic years 1990-91 through 1994-95. A strong correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the total SAT score whereas a modest correlation exists between the total MCAT score and the postbaccalaureate GPA. The Physical Sciences and Verbal Reasoning subsection of the MCAT correlated well with the Math and Verbal subsection of the SAT. These data suggest that SAT scores have significant value in helping to identify postbaccalaureate candidates who can be successful medical school applicants. V21-1-6
George Delahunty, Ph.D. V21-1-6 Back to Main Abstracts Online page
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