Use of cross-institutional progress test as a predictor of performance in a new medical college.

BACKGROUND The progress test was initiated by Qassim University in 2000 as a tool to evaluate the educational process among Saudi medical colleges. Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University (PNU) College of Medicine is a new medical college established in 2012 that implemented the same innovative reformed curriculum of King Saud University College of Medicine. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to use the progress test to evaluate the rate of knowledge acquisition among a new medical school compared to other long-established medical schools in Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS As part of an ongoing strategy, the progress test was administered before the end of the academic year. Students in PNU were enrolled for 2 years in the progress test. We compared the mean progress test scores for PNU students compared to students at comparable stages in other medical schools in Saudi Arabia. RESULTS The results showed that the rate of knowledge acquisition was similar in students at PNU to students in other well-established medical schools in Saudi Arabia. CONCLUSION The present study showed that the interinstitutional progress test demonstrated that the level of acquisition of knowledge and performance of students in a new medical school was similar to other medical colleges in Saudi Arabia.