Pharmacy students' reading ability and the readability of required reading materials

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Education
• Reading Comprehension
• Academic Literacy

Background:

• Assessing the reading proficiency of Doctor of Pharmacy students is crucial for academic success.
• Understanding the relationship between standardized test scores and reading ability is important for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reading level of third-year pharmacy students.
• To determine the correlation between Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) scores and Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) percentiles.
• To assess the readability of pharmacy course materials.

Main Methods:

• Administered the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) to third-year pharmacy students.
• Correlated NDRT scores with students' Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) percentile rankings.
• Utilized the Gunning FOG readability formula to analyze textbook chapters and medical guidelines.

Main Results:

• Pharmacy students' average reading level was determined to be 16.5 years (grade level).
• A strong positive correlation (rho = 0.776, p < 0.001) was found between NDRT vocabulary scores and PCAT verbal percentiles.
• Pharmacy textbook chapters averaged a 18.0 grade level, while medical guidelines averaged 19.2 grade level in readability.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) verbal scores strongly correlate with Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) vocabulary scores.
• A moderate correlation exists between composite PCAT scores and total NDRT scores.
• A notable gap exists between pharmacy students' reading levels and the complexity of their required reading materials.