Evaluation of practical clinical examinations.

Few studies have examined the effectiveness of practical examinations in assessing the clinical competence of dental students. This paper describes a grading system that derives a significant portion of the senior student's grade from this type of examination. The impact of practical clinical examinations on two consecutive graduating classes (N = 258) was analyzed retrospectively. Students performed significantly worse on practical clinical examinations than on daily clinical procedures. Over 25 percent of the students who received A's on their daily clinical procedures received D's on practical examinations. Practical examinations provided a greater distribution in grade averages and minimized several well-documented clinical evaluation problems. Student response to this form of evaluation was mixed. The results of this two-year study suggest that practical examinations provide a different perspective on student abilities than do daily clinical grades.