Dental student success: The predictive value of first-year grades

This study investigates the relationship between first-year grades and cumulative grades at the end of dental school to explore trends in academic performance in the predoctoral dental curriculum. The objective of this research is to provide information to inform student support efforts for predoctoral dental programs.

Academic records for 156 students who completed their first year (D1) of predoctoral dental education in 2015/2016 were reviewed. The analysis reviews outcomes at the end of D1 and the end of the 4-year curriculum. The outcomes of this study are grade point average (GPA) at the end of the 4-year traditional dental school curriculum, grouped as basic science, preclinical, preclinical laboratory, translational, and clinical. Regression analyses were performed for each outcome. A GPA change of 0.5 was employed to demonstrate change, as it represented half a letter grade.

The analysis found first-year grades to be related to 4-year academic outcomes. For example, a 0.5-grade point score increase in the first-year basic science GPA was associated with a 0.503 increase in basic science GPA. However, a 0.5-grade point increase in first-year annual GPA was associated with a 0.084 increase in the clinical science GPA. First-year annual GPA was the only significant predictor variable for overall 4-year GPA; a 0.5-grade point increase in the first-year annual GPA was associated with a 0.386 increase in overall GPA.

The results of this study suggest that academic and personal support in the first year of dental school is paramount in supporting student success in predoctoral dental education.