Performance Trends and Grading Variability in Clinical Education: A Record-Based Cross-Sectional Study of Medical...

To examine five-year trends in academic performance across four final-year clinical subjects and evaluate the relationship between pre-admission scores and university academic outcomes. It also assessed the variability in grading practices across four clinical departments.

A record-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 1584 medical graduate students (cohorts 2020-2024) at Mutah University, Jordan. Data included General Secondary School Examination (Tawjihi) scores, grades in four core clinical subjects (Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics-Gynecology) and cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA). Analysis used descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, analysis of variance and regression models.

Tawjihi scores showed a weak but statistically significant correlation with GPA (r = 0.257; p < 0.001). Subject grades correlated significantly with GPA (Pediatrics r = 0.810), Obstetrics-Gynecology r = 0.786, Internal Medicine r = 0.779, Surgery r = 0.628; all p < 0.001). Year-to-year differences were significant across all subjects (F = 6.84-42.44, all p < 0.001). Regression analysis revealed that the practical component (β = 0.602; p < 0.001) slightly outweighed written exams (β = 0.547; p < 0.001) in predicting final course grades.

Grading variability across departments highlight the importance of standardization in clinical evaluation. These findings emphasize the need for unified assessment frameworks to enhance equity and reliability in medical education.