Examining concurrent validity between COMLEX-USA Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation and COMLEX-USA Level 2-Performance...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Licensure Examinations
• Osteopathic Medicine

Background:

• The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States of America (COMLEX-USA) Level 2 comprises a cognitive evaluation (L2-CE) and a performance evaluation (L2-PE).
• L2-PE was developed to complement L2-CE, with both assessments expected to measure related yet distinct constructs relevant to osteopathic medical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the concurrent validity between the COMLEX-USA Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (L2-CE) and the Level 2-Performance Evaluation (L2-PE).

Main Methods:

• Utilized first-attempt test scores from 6,639 candidates from the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners database (June 2019-May 2020).
• Calculated disattenuated correlations between L2-CE total scores, L2-CE competency domain scores (CD1-CD7), and L2-PE scores (Humanistic Domain [HM] and Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain [BM]).

Main Results:

• Pearson correlations between L2-CE and L2-PE scores ranged from 0.10 to 0.34, with L2-CE total score showing the strongest correlation with BM (0.34).
• Disattenuated correlations revealed higher values, particularly for scores with lower reliabilities (e.g., CD5, CD6), indicating improved validity estimates.
• Reliabilities for L2-CE were 0.87, HM 0.81, and BM 0.73, with L2-CE competency domains ranging from 0.22 to 0.74.

Conclusions:

• The small to moderate correlations between L2-CE and L2-PE support the hypothesis that they measure related but distinct constructs.
• Findings provide evidence for the validity of the blueprints used to construct COMLEX-USA Levels 2-CE and 2-PE, aligning with their intended purpose and nature.