FEC Student and Faculty Forum
Should We Change the Medical
Student Grading System?
How we arrived here…
and
Where we are going…
Revisiting Lauren Wolchok’s Data (c/o 2013)
October 22 & 29, 2013
6:00-7:00p
CHS 63-105
Current System: Pass/Fail
Pass/Fail System:
“The UCLA SOM has a pure Pass/Fail grading system for all four years.”
During the 3rd year…
• Each required clerkship has a (1) clinical evaluation and (2) final exam.
1. Clinical: evaluations submitted by the residents/faculty to Course Chair
• 5-part criteria
2. Exam: National shelf or exam of the clerkship’s choosing
• Have set passing rates you must get above to pass
• If a student passes both the clinical and final exam component the first
time, the student will receive a “Pass.”
• If a student fails the clinical portion of a clerkship and/or the exam, the
student will receive a grade of “Fail” and must remediate.
DGSOM Website Policies and Forms  Policies General Guidelines on Pass/Fail Grading (modified)
http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/offices/sao/clinical/GradingStudentEvaluations.cfm
Current System: LOD
Letter Of Distinction: An opportunity for faculty members to recognize
a student who has distinguished himself/herself by demonstrating
extraordinary performance…
“Only truly remarkable performance will be recognized…”
• LODs are cited in the Dean’s Letter accompanying internship and
residency applications…
• No LOD maximum or minimum per clerkship
(i.e., either several letters or none may be awarded)
• Exam Score Minimums: While not required, most clerkships have
minimum Shelf Scores cut off the be eligible (normally ~80-85%)
• Evaluation Score Minimums: While not required, most clerkships
have minimum 5-point evaluation scores required to obtain an LOD
(i.e. must have more 5s than 4s)
DGSOM Website Policies and Forms  Policies General Guidelines on Pass/Fail Grading (modified)
http://www.medstudent.ucla.edu/offices/sao/clinical/GradingStudentEvaluations.cfm
Background*
The elected representative body of the Faculty of the School of Medicine
Key Responsibility:
• Oversee the design and conduct of the academic program of courses and curriculum
A standing subcommittee of the FEC
Key Responsibilities:
• To review and recommend revisions of the Medical School curricula
*http://www.medsch.ucla.edu/public/faculty/fec/fec.htm
Research: LCME Student Survey
Survey of the entire student body covering varous aspects
of student education and wellbeing that was
independently created, distributed and analyzed by the
Medical Student Council
92% satisfaction with P/F in preclinical years
68% satisfaction with P/F in clinical years
39% believe P/F helpful in applying to residency
26% think LOD awards are transparent
59% do NOT think LOD awards are transparent
22% think LOD awards are fair
42% do NOT think LOD awards are fair
--> Students are generally displeased with the
Fail/Pass/LOD system of the 3rd year
http://mscdgsom.weebly.com/lcme-student-surveys.html
Research: LOD Consistency
LODs in Pediatrics by Site
(20% Overall)
COMMUN.KA
UCLA/OVH
0% !!
13% !!
CS
25%
RIVER/RED
50%
17%
KAISER.SUN
27%
HARBOR
TEXT
Reference
Research: LOD Consistency
LODs in Internal Medicine by Site
(23% Overall)
CS/HARBOR
0% !!
UCLA
13% !!
18%
15%
CS/WVA
30%
25%
HARB/SMMC
20%
50%
HARBOR/KA
HARBOR/WVA
17%
42%
57%
OVH
8%
WVA/OVH
OVH/SMMC
TEXT
Reference
27%14%
KA/OVH
KAISER/WVA
Research: LOD Consistency
CONCLUSIONS
LOD distribution
varied by Site
LOD distribution
varied by Clerkship
Range: 0% to 54%
Range: 13-25%
Comparison: Top 30 Schools
77% used 4+ tiers for evaluating
3rd and 4th year medical students
TEXT
Reference
Proposed Changes
Grading Task Force Recommendations:
1.
Move to 4-point grading system in 3rd & 4th years
(Honors, High Pass, Pass, and Fail)
1.
Final clerkship evaluation grade will be comprised of
(1) clinical and (2) exam performance
3.
There should be a clear spell out in the MSPE of
clinical and exam performance separately
Note: These changes would only come into affect for the next incoming
class of students (starting with c/o 2018).
FEC WebsiteMEC PageMinutes
http://www.medsch.ucla.edu/public/faculty/MEC/Minutes.htm#