Using dental students' preclinical performance as an indicator of clinical success

The purpose of this study was to evaluate part of one dental school's predoctoral curriculum by investigating correlations between students' final grades in two preclinical courses and their performance in the related clinical courses. The sample consisted of 301 students at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine who graduated in 2010 and 2011. All final grades used as data were obtained from the Registrar's Office and evaluated anonymously. The average preclinical final grades differed significantly for students in the 2010 (M=84.92, SD=3.35) and 2011 (M=79.67, SD=4.67) classes, as did their average clinical final grades (2010: M=88.38, SD=2.13; 2011: M=87.45, SD=2.06). The data for each class were therefore examined separately. Results showed that the correlation between students' preclinical grades and clinical grades in operative dentistry and fixed prosthodontics was statistically significant (2010: r(2)=0.144, p<0.001; 2011: r(2)=0.261, p<0.001). This finding suggests there may be a positive relationship between preclinical and clinical performance of these students; however, the discrete factors contributing to that relationship were not investigated in this study and require further research.