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BMAT's predictive validity for medical school performance: A retrospective cohort study
Daniel J Davies1, Amir H Sam1, Kevin G Murphy1
1Imperial College School of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UK.
Medical Education
|May 6, 2022
Summary
The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) shows limited predictive validity for medical school performance, with Section 2 scores being the most useful for assessing scientific knowledge. Evidence suggests BMAT may be less effective than comparable admissions tools.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Admissions Testing
- Psychometrics
Background:
- The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) is widely used in medical school admissions.
- Limited evidence exists regarding its predictive and incremental validity over prior educational attainment (PEA).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the predictive and incremental validity of BMAT scores for undergraduate medical performance.
- To compare BMAT's validity evidence with that of similar assessment tools.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of medical students from Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine).
- Analysis of associations between BMAT Section 1 (Thinking Skills), Section 2 (Scientific Knowledge), and Section 3a (Writing Task) scores with academic and clinical performance.
- Investigation of incremental validity over A-levels (PEA) in a subset of ICSM students.
Main Results:
- BMAT Section 2 scores predicted written assessments in both institutions (ICSM: 0.08-0.19; LKCMedicine: 0.22-0.36).
- BMAT Section 1 and 3a scores showed minimal or no significant prediction of performance.
- No clear evidence of incremental validity for BMAT sections over A-level grades was found.
- BMAT performance showed no strong positive associations with clinical assessment performance.
Conclusions:
- BMAT Section 2 may be useful for assessing scientific knowledge independently of A-levels.
- Overall, BMAT appears less effective than comparable admissions tests.
- Further large-scale studies are needed to evaluate the utility of BMAT and other admissions tests.
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