Impact of an intervention program on minority medical students' National Board Part I performance

An intervention program employing test-skills instruction and cooperative learning methods was presented to second-year minority medical students at a major state-supported medical school. The purpose was to enhance minority students' passing rate on Part I of the National Board of Medical Examiners examination. Nineteen of the 21 second-year minority students participated in the program. After the program had been conducted, it was observed that the passing rate of the minority students during that year significantly surpassed the rate of minority students from the previous year. Participants' passing rate approached the passing rate of the nonminority students in the class. Moreover, the mean National Board Examination score for the students participating in the program was not statistically different from that observed for an equal number of randomly selected second-year nonminority students. The results of the program were encouraging; further examination of the effects of support-intervention efforts on minority and nonminority medical students' performance are suggested.