Veterinary School Admissions: Which Indicators of Student Achievement are Useful?
While many colleges move toward holistic measures and individual application reviews for admissions decisions, a recent study published by Drs. Jared A. Danielson and Rebecca G. Burzette reaffirms the value of standardized measures of knowledge and skills in veterinary medical education.
Colleges of Veterinary Medicine continuously seek useful indicators of student achievement prior to and during veterinary school in order to improve the quality of admissions decisions. Knowing how well undergraduate grade point average and Graduate Record Exam (GRE) verbal scores predict subsequent achievement for veterinary students is extremely important. Drs. Danielson and Burzette’s recent study is unique when compared to prior similar studies because it controlled for restriction of range of the predictor variables and used a relatively new assessment tool: the Veterinary Educational Assessment (VEA).
The VEA is a 240-item web-based multiple-choice examination covering basic veterinary medical sciences. The five main content areas are anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, microbiology, and pathology. The VEA offers a comprehensive, standardized, independent assessment of knowledge in basic veterinary medical sciences taught during a student's first two years in veterinary school.
Additional indicators of subsequent achievement included North American Veterinary License Exam (NAVLE) scores and Veterinary Medicine Cumulative GPA (CVMGPA).
Across five cohorts of veterinary students, the predictor variables showed a robust relationship with subsequent indicators of achievement, explaining anywhere from:
- 70% to 84% of variance in CVMGPA
- 51% to 91% of variance in VEA scores
- 41% to 92% of variance in NAVLE scores
The study suggests that students who had a better understanding of what they learned in their undergraduate programs are also more likely to have a better understanding of basic and clinical sciences in veterinary school. Because this was identified through the VEA and NAVLE, this relationship is clearly not just about the desire or ability to get good grades.
While several key implications for admissions decisions are highlighted, there continues to be a scarcity of evidence regarding how to reliability measure or predict achievement in veterinary clinical practice. Continued research is necessary to address this deficiency and strengthen the ability to select and train future veterinarians who will succeed and thrive in their workplaces.
The full research article, GRE and Undergraduate GPA as Predictors of Veterinary Medical School Grade Point Average, VEA Scores and NAVLE Scores While Accounting for Range Restrictions is available to review in its entirety.