Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40702472›Full record

Trial reportBMC medical education2025

Evaluating AI-generated examination papers in periodontology: a comparative study with human-designed counterparts.

Xiang Ma, Wei Pan, Xiao-Ning Yu

Abstract readComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC medical education, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Xiang MaThe Affiliated Yantai Stomatological Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264000, China. MaXiang900218@163.com.
Wei PanThe Affiliated Yantai Stomatological Hospital of Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, 264000, China.
Xiao-Ning YuShandong Technology and Business University, Yantai, 264000, China.

Funding

Shandong Provincial Medical and Health Science and Technology Project 202408010570
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThis study systematically evaluates the performance of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated examinations in periodontology education, comparing their quality, student outcomes, and practical applications with those of human-designed examinations.

methodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted with 126 undergraduate dental students, who were divided into AI (n = 63) and human (n = 63) test groups. The AI-generated examination was developed using GPT-4, while the human examination was derived from the 2024 institutional final exam. Both assessments covered identical content from Periodontology (5th Edition) and included 90 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) across five formats: A1: Single-sentence best choice; A2: Case summary best choice; A3: Case group best choice; A4: Case chain best choice; X: Multiple correct options. Psychometric properties (reliability, validity, difficulty, discrimination) and student feedback were analyzed using split-half reliability, content coverage analysis, factor analysis, and 5-point Likert scales.

resultsThe AI examination demonstrated superior content coverage (81.3% vs. 72.4%) and significantly higher total scores (79.34 ± 6.93 vs. 73.17 ± 9.57, p = 0.027). However, it showed significantly lower discrimination indices overall (0.35 vs. 0.49, p = 0.004). Both examinations exhibited adequate split-half reliability (AI = 0.81, human = 0.84) and comparable difficulty distributions (AI: easy 40.0%, moderate 46.7%, difficult 13.3%; human: easy 30.0%, moderate 50.0%, difficult 20.0%; p = 0.274). Student feedback revealed significantly lower ratings for the AI test in terms of perceived difficulty appropriateness (3.53 ± 1.03 vs. 4.19 ± 0.76, p < 0.001), knowledge coverage (3.67 ± 0.89 vs. 4.19 ± 0.72, p < 0.001), and learning inspiration (3.79 ± 0.90 vs. 4.25 ± 0.67, p = 0.001).

conclusionWhile AI-generated examinations improve content breadth and efficiency, their limited clinical contextualization and discrimination constrain their use in high-stakes applications. A hybrid "AI-human collaborative generation" framework, integrating medical knowledge graphs for contextual optimization, is proposed to balance automation with assessment precision. This study provides empirical evidence for the role of AI in enhancing dental education assessment systems.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceEducational MeasurementEducation, DentalPeriodonticsFemaleHumansMalePsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsStudents, DentalArtificial intelligenceAssessmentAutomated item generationMedical educationPeriodontology

Identifiers

PMID40702472
PMCPMC12285132

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.