Skip to main content

Table 2 Correlations of GPA, MCAT, and USMLE scores with NBME subject examination scores for each clerkship

From: Predictors of medical school clerkship performance: a multispecialty longitudinal analysis of standardized examination scores and clinical assessments

Test measure

Medicine

Neurology

OB/GYN

Pediatrics

Psychiatry

Surgery

ra

P valueb

ra

P valueb

ra

P valueb

ra

P valueb

ra

P valueb

ra

P valueb

GPA

0.33

<.001

0.31

<.001

0.29

<.001

0.38

<.001

0.32

<.001

0.35

<.001

MCAT

            

 Total

0.38

<.001

0.40

<.001

0.33

<.001

0.39

<.001

0.40

<.001

0.45

<.001

 Biological science

0.36

<.001

0.38

<.001

0.33

<.001

0.34

<.001

0.35

<.001

0.43

<.001

 Physical science

0.31

<.001

0.33

<.001

0.29

<.001

0.32

<.001

0.31

<.001

0.39

<.001

 Verbal

0.23

<.001

0.26

<.001

0.17

<.001

0.27

<.001

0.30

<.001

0.26

<.001

 Writing

0.10

.05

0.13

.01

0.09

.07

0.14

.006

0.21

<.001

0.12

.23

USMLE 1

0.69

<.001

0.69

<.001

0.65

<.001

0.68

<.001

0.62

<.001

0.67

<.001

USMLE 2

0.77

<.001

0.75

<.001

0.74

<.001

0.77

<.001

0.69

<.001

0.70

<.001

Student Characteristic

Mean (SD)

P Valuec

Mean (SD)

P Valuec

Mean (SD)

P Valuec

Mean (SD)

P Valuec

Mean (SD)

P Valuec

Mean (SD)

P Valuec

Gender

 

.77

 

.54

 

.08

 

.26

 

.02

 

.26

 Male

78.4 (8.3)

 

75.2 (8.2)

 

74.5 (8.8)

 

76.4 (9.1)

 

77.2 (9.0)

 

75.6 (9.5)

 

 Female

78.2 (8.0)

 

75.7 (8.2)

 

76.0 (8.3)

 

77.4 (9.3)

 

79.2 (8.9)

 

74.6 (8.9)

 

Underrepresented minority

 

<.001

 

<.001

 

<.001

 

<.001

 

<.001

 

<.001

 No

79.1 (7.8)

 

76.2 (7.7)

 

76.0 (8.4)

 

77.9 (8.7)

 

79.0 (8.7)

 

75.9 (9.1)

 

 Yes

73.9 (8.6)

 

70.9 (9.1)

 

70.9 (8.2)

 

71.6 (10.1)

 

73.7 (9.7)

 

70.3 (8.4)

 

Independent predictors from multivariable models

USMLE 2

USMLE 2

USMLE 2

USMLE 2

USMLE 2

USMLE 2

USMLE 1

USMLE 1

USMLE 1

USMLE 1

USMLE 1

USMLE 1

MCAT, Physical

MCAT, Physical

Gender

Gender

Gender

MCAT, biological science

MCAT, Total

MCAT, Total

 

MCAT, Verbal

MCAT, Physical

 
    

MCAT, Total

 

(R 2 = 60.6 %)

(R 2 = 59.0 %)

(R 2 = 58.4 %)

(R 2 = 63.0 %)

(R 2 = 53.4 %)

(R 2 = 52.6 %)

  1. Abbreviations: GPA Grade point average, MCAT Medical college admission test, NBME National board of medical examiners, OB/GYN Obstetrics and gynecology, USMLE 1 and 2 United States medical licensing examination steps 1 and 2
  2. ar denotes the Pearson correlation coefficient
  3. b P values indicate whether the correlation is significantly different from 0
  4. c P values were based on a 2-sample t test