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.