The University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Associate Editor, American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Arlington, Virginia.
Am J Pharm Educ. 2019 Dec;83(10):7526. doi: 10.5688/ajpe7526.
To determine the factors, including a preparation test, that best predict pharmacy students' performance on the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment (PCOA). Two cohorts of third-year pharmacy students completed a 100-item locally created PCOA pre-test, the PCOA Prep. This PCOA Prep was a cumulative knowledge test that was administered in the fall semester. In the spring semester, the students completed the 200-item PCOA and a separate survey on study habits and confidence. A retrospective review of students' demographics data, pre-pharmacy admission variables, and pharmacy school factors were collected. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted to evaluate which factors predicted students' PCOA total scaled score as well as scores in areas 1-4. One hundred seventy-nine students were included in the study. The majority were female (55%), white (54%), and 28 (SD=5.4) years old on average. Students' average score on the PCOA Prep test was 80.7% (SD=7.8). The stepwise multiple linear regression model for the PCOA total scaled score included the PCOA Prep test, cumulative GPA at the end of the didactic curriculum, race/ethnicity, Pharmacy College Admission Test (PCAT) Verbal, PCAT Biology, and a class identifier. Including the PCOA Prep test explained more variance than the model without the test. This study revealed that student performance on a locally created cumulative knowledge test best predicted the PCOA Total Scaled Score. These results offer insights into additional contributing factors that influence students' PCOA performance and how colleges and schools of pharmacy could identify at-risk students who may need knowledge remediation prior to beginning advanced pharmacy practice experiences.
确定因素，包括准备测试，以最好地预测药学专业学生在药学课程成果评估（PCOA）中的表现。 两个三年级药学专业学生队列完成了一项 100 项的本地创建的 PCOA 预测试，即 PCOA Prep。这是一项累积知识测试，在秋季学期进行。在春季学期，学生们完成了 200 项 PCOA 测试和一项关于学习习惯和信心的单独调查。回顾性地收集了学生的人口统计学数据、预科入学变量和药学学校因素。进行了相关和回归分析，以评估哪些因素预测了学生的 PCOA 总标准分数以及第 1-4 区域的分数。共有 179 名学生参与了这项研究。大多数是女性（55%），白人（54%），平均年龄为 28 岁（标准差=5.4）。学生 PCOA Prep 测试的平均分数为 80.7%（标准差=7.8）。PCOA 总标准分数的逐步多元线性回归模型包括 PCOA Prep 测试、理论课程结束时的累积 GPA、种族/民族、药学院入学考试（PCAT）口头、PCAT 生物学和班级标识符。包括 PCOA Prep 测试的模型比不包括该测试的模型解释了更多的方差。这项研究表明，学生在本地创建的累积知识测试中的表现最好预测了 PCOA 总标准分数。这些结果提供了关于影响学生 PCOA 表现的其他因素的见解，以及学院和药学院如何识别可能需要在开始高级药学实践经验之前进行知识补救的高风险学生。
