Leveling the playing field: evaluating measurement equivalence in MMIs between genders

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychometrics
• Health Professions Education

Background:

• Medical school selection is crucial for identifying suitable candidates.
• Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMI) assess non-cognitive skills like empathy and judgment.
• Ensuring fairness and validity of MMIs across diverse applicant groups is essential for equitable admissions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the factorial validity of the Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI) structure.
• To determine if non-cognitive attributes assessed by MMIs are interpreted consistently across gender groups.
• To examine potential gender-related disparities in MMI performance.

Main Methods:

• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess MMI structure dimensionality.
• Multi-Group CFA tested for measurement invariance across gender groups.
• Latent mean comparisons examined gender-related differences in MMI performance.

Main Results:

• A higher-order model demonstrated a well-fitting structure for MMIs.
• Scalar invariance confirmed equivalent interpretation of non-cognitive attributes by males and females.
• Female applicants consistently outperformed male applicants in MMI performance over three selection cycles.

Conclusions:

• The study provides empirical support for the factorial validity and measurement fairness of MMIs across gender.
• Consistent gender-based performance differences in MMIs warrant further investigation into sources of disparity.
• Findings are relevant for medical educators and policymakers aiming for evidence-based and equitable selection processes.