The validity of Iran’s national university entrance examination (Konkoor) for predicting medical students’ academic performance

dc.creator	Farrokhi-Khajeh-Pasha Yasin
dc.creator	Nedjat Saharnaz
dc.creator	Mohammadi Aeen
dc.creator	Rad Elaheh
dc.creator	Majdzadeh Reza
dc.creator	Monajemi Farshid
dc.creator	Jamali Ehsan
dc.creator	Yazdani Shahryar
dc.date	2012-07-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:23:03Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:23:03Z
dc.identifier	10.1186/1472-6920-12-60
dc.identifier	1472-6920
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/b6f38c16c36948b1b65c5d1ab512f22d
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/20856
dc.description	<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Iran, admission to medical school is based solely on the results of the highly competitive, nationwide Konkoor examination. This paper examines the predictive validity of Konkoor scores, alone and in combination with high school grade point averages (hsGPAs), for the academic performance of public medical school students in Iran.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study followed the cohort of 2003 matriculants at public medical schools in Iran from entrance through internship. The predictor variables were Konkoor total and subsection scores and hsGPAs. The outcome variables were (1) Comprehensive Basic Sciences Exam (CBSE) scores; (2) Comprehensive Pre-Internship Exam (CPIE) scores; and (3) medical school grade point averages (msGPAs) for the courses taken before internship. Pearson correlation and regression analyses were used to assess the relationships between the selection criteria and academic performance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 2126 matriculants (1374 women and 752 men) in 2003. Among the outcome variables, the CBSE had the strongest association with the Konkoor total score (<it>r =</it> 0.473), followed by msGPA (<it>r =</it> 0.339) and the CPIE (<it>r =</it> 0.326). While adding hsGPAs to the Konkoor total score almost doubled the power to predict msGPAs (<it>R</it><sup>2</sup> = 0.225), it did not have a substantial effect on CBSE or CPIE prediction.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The Konkoor alone, and even in combination with hsGPA, is a relatively poor predictor of medical students’ academic performance, and its predictive validity declines over the academic years of medical school. Care should be taken to develop comprehensive admissions criteria, covering both cognitive and non-cognitive factors, to identify the best applicants to become "good doctors" in the future. The findings of this study can be helpful for policy makers in the medical education field.</p>
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	BioMed Central
dc.relation	http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6920/12/60
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1472-6920
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	BMC Medical Education, Vol 12, Iss 1, p 60 (2012)
dc.subject	Medicine (General)
dc.subject	R5-920
dc.subject	Medicine
dc.subject	R
dc.subject	DOAJ:Medicine (General)
dc.subject	DOAJ:Health Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Medicine (General)
dc.subject	R5-920
dc.subject	Medicine
dc.subject	R
dc.subject	DOAJ:Medicine (General)
dc.subject	DOAJ:Health Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Medicine (General)
dc.subject	R5-920
dc.subject	Medicine
dc.subject	R
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Medicine (General)
dc.subject	R5-920
dc.subject	Medicine
dc.subject	R
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Medicine (General)
dc.subject	R5-920
dc.subject	Medicine
dc.subject	R
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	The validity of Iran’s national university entrance examination (Konkoor) for predicting medical students’ academic performance
dc.type	article