ArticleEuropean journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe2026
Do Pre-Clinical Summative Assessments Predict a Student's Clinical Performance? A Retrospective Study.
Article in European journal of dental education : official journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
introductionDental students are deemed fit to treat patients (clinical readiness) based on their performance in pre-clinical summative assessments. This involves assessing knowledge (theory exams) and technical skills (simulation-based activities). However, there is weak evidence to support whether these pre-clinical assessments accurately predict clinical performance. The aim of this study was to determine if pre-clinical summative assessments predicted the clinical performance of students in a graduate dental programme. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis retrospective longitudinal cohort study analysed the results of pre-clinical (theory, simulation) and clinical summative assessments in Restorative Dentistry, Periodontics and Endodontics from six cohorts of second- and third-year students (2013 to 2019) enrolled in The University of Sydney's Doctor of Dental Medicine program. The association between pre-clinical (theory and simulation) marks with clinical marks were analysed by discipline using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r
resultsA weak but significant positive correlation was found between a student's pre-clinical theory mark and their clinical performance in all three disciplines. The only significant positive correlation between pre-clinical simulation marks and clinical performance was found in Restorative Dentistry. DISCUSSION: While some positive correlations were found between pre-clinical and clinical performance, overall, these results indicate that pre-clinical ability was not a reliable predictor of a student's clinical competence.
conclusionsAssessing clinical readiness is complex. Our results indicate this attribute may potentially be better assessed using a range of qualitative and quantitative metrics. Further research is required to better define and quantify clinical readiness.
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