Do precursor tests influence the performance of Oral Hygiene students in subsequent semester tests?

INTRODUCTION Precursor tests may be useful educational tools in dentistry to enhance learning among Oral Hygiene students, but their application and possible effect on the subsequent performance of these students have not been studied. AIM To determine whether precursor tests, used as dental educational and formative assessment tools, influence the performance of undergraduate Oral Hygiene students in ensuing formal semester tests in the discipline of Basic Restorative Dentistry. METHODS This descriptive cross sectional study involved seventeen consenting Oral Hygiene students. An electronic Odontology Theory Test (OTT) and an electronic Objective Structured Practical Test (OSPT), were prepared and introduced as precursor tests prior to scheduled semester tests in the Division of Restorative Dentistry (Department of Odontology). Eleven (65%) of the seventeen students completed the precursor OTT, as well as the precursor OSPT, fourteen days prior to their scheduled semester OTT and semester OSPT and sixty two days prior to their final examinations. The results of the precursor and the semester tests were entered into a Microsoft Excel database for comparative analysis, using a Student's t-test. RESULTS For both OTT and OSPT tests there were significant differences between the means of the scores of the students for precursor and semester tests (OTT: p = 0.0009; OSPT: p = 0.0180). DISCUSSION The students performed significantly better in their precursor OTT, whilst their performance in the OSPT was significantly better in the semester test. CONCLUSION In the context of this investigation, the precursor OTT did not enhance the performance of the students in their semester OTT, whilst the precursor OSPT was associated with an enhanced performance of the students in their semester OSPT.