Learning through Self-Assessment: Investigating the Relationship between Performance on the NBME® Clinical Science Mastery Series Self-Assessments and Clinical Science Subject Examinations

Abstract

Self-assessments provide students with an opportunity to test their understanding of content covered in their curriculum and help them prepare for subsequent assessments. Perhaps more importantly, self-assessments may also serve a pedagogical purpose. Research on test-enhanced learning suggests that material is remembered better if one or more tests are included as part of the learning strategy. The NBME® Clinical Science Mastery Series (CSMS) are web administered self-assessments built to the same content specifications as the NBME clinical science subject examinations that provide students with an opportunity to become familiar with content, format, and pacing. This study examined the relationship between performance on CSMS and on the corresponding clinical science subject examinations. The study included students from United States and Canadian medical schools who took CSMS under standard- or self-paced conditions prior to sitting for the corresponding subject examination for the first time. Linear regression analyses investigated the relationship between performance on CSMS and on the corresponding subject examination. CSMS scores explained 29 %–44 % of the variation in first subject examination scores when taken in standard-paced mode and 25 %–33 % when taken in self-paced mode; the relationship was somewhat different for the two pacing groups for most of the subjects as indicated by statistically different sets of regression parameters for the models based on each group. Results confirm that performance on the CSMS self-assessments and clinical science subject examinations is related. Usage patterns suggest that students may be using the CSMS as a learning tool and as an instrument to gauge their clinical science knowledge.