Non-graded clinical evaluation of dental students in a competency-based education program

The objective of this article is to report the development, implementation, and early results of a non-graded normative dental student clinical performance assessment system based on our competencies documents. The normative system (student performance is compared to evidence-based clinical standards) was used and evaluated during the 2002-03 academic year and is now gradually replacing the traditional summative (numerical) grading system previously used at Baylor College of Dentistry. The methodology included: 1) consensus development of new clinical performance assessment forms over the summer of 2002; 2) concurrent fourth-year clinical faculty calibration to the new forms; 3) implementation at the beginning of the senior year for the Class of 2003; and 4) faculty and student evaluation surveys in May 2003. Every step of each clinical procedure was recorded, weekly performance summaries by both students and faculty were collected, and periodic workshops were held to refine the forms and further calibrate faculty. The results showed strong positive responses to the new system by graduates and faculty alike. We conclude that early results warrant broadened efforts toward a continuously improved schoolwide normative student clinical performance assessment system.