Department of Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia.
School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Med Educ. 2019 Feb;53(2):175-183. doi: 10.1111/medu.13759. Epub 2018 Nov 25.
Repetition of a cognitive ability test is known to increase scores, but almost no research has examined whether similar improvement occurs with repetition of interviews. Retest effects can change the rank order of candidates and reduce the test's criterion validity. Because interviews are widely used to select medical students and postgraduate trainees, and because applicants apply to multiple programmes and often reapply if unsuccessful, the potential for retest effects needs to be understood.
This study was designed to identify if retest improvements occur when candidates undertake multiple interviews and, if so, whether the effect is attributable to general interview experience or specific experience and whether repeat testing affects criterion validity.
We compared interview scores of applicants who were interviewed for one or more of three independent undergraduate medical programmes in two consecutive years and those who were interviewed in both years for the same programme. Correlations between initial and repeat interview scores and a written test of social understanding were compared.
General experience (being interviewed by multiple programmes) did not produce improvement in subsequent interview performance. There was no evidence of method effect (having prior experience of the multiple mini-interview process). Specific experience (being interviewed by the same programme across 2 years) resulted in a significant improvement in scores for which regression to the mean did not fully account. Criterion validity did not appear to be affected.
Unsuccessful candidates for medical school who reapply and are re-interviewed on a subsequent occasion at the same institution are likely to increase their scores. The results of this study suggest the increase is probably not attributable to improved ability.
众所周知，重复进行认知能力测试会提高分数，但几乎没有研究检验过重复面试是否会产生类似的提高。复试效应会改变候选人的排名，并降低测试的效标效度。由于面试被广泛用于选拔医学生和研究生，而且申请人会向多个项目申请，如果不成功，他们通常会再次申请，因此需要了解复试效应的潜在影响。
本研究旨在确定候选人在多次面试中是否会出现复试提高，如果是，这种提高是归因于一般面试经验还是特定经验，以及重复测试是否会影响效标效度。
我们比较了在连续两年中，申请三个独立本科医学项目中的一个或多个项目面试的申请人的面试分数，以及在同一年中两次面试相同项目的申请人的面试分数。比较了初始面试分数和重复面试分数与社会理解书面测试之间的相关性。
一般经验（被多个项目面试）并没有提高随后的面试表现。没有证据表明存在方法效应（具有多次迷你面试过程的先前经验）。特定经验（在两年内被同一项目面试）导致分数显著提高，这不能完全归因于均值回归。效标效度似乎没有受到影响。
未能被医学院录取的申请人，如果在随后的同一机构再次申请并重新面试，他们的分数可能会提高。本研究的结果表明，这种提高可能不是由于能力提高。
