Predicting residency performance with the new Medical College Admission Test.

The predictive validity of the new Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) was examined using the criterion of residency performance. Two different measures of residency performance were used for three successive classes at one medical school: a locally developed, 5-criteria rating scale (n = 67) with the class of 1982 and an externally developed, 18-criteria rating scale (n = 102) with the classes of 1983 and 1984. Physician residency supervisors completed the criterion measure for the three classes. The finding of no statistically significant relationships between the new MCAT and residency performance supports the pattern which was found with the old MCAT and thus far has resulted with the new MCAT. Specifically, the MCAT decreases in predictive validity as the student progresses through and beyond medical school.