A system for developing and evaluating the clinical judgment of dental students

A system for evaluating the clinical judgment of dental students in removable prosthodontics was presented. The major points of the system are as follows. Students must decide when the quality of their treatment is worthy of a grade. Three quality-level categories are used. Letters that have no intrinsic meaning are used to designate each quality level. Each item may be evaluated a maximum of four times by the student before remediation is instituted. Each attempt to evaluate the same procedure receives a lower point value. The final grade is determined as a percent of points earned out of a possible maximum. Faculty acceptance of the system is high. The system provides an easy means of feedback to students.