Comparing standardized measures of diligence and achievement with dental student academic performance

Utilizing a reliable and valid instrument to measure a student's application of energy and effort towards a goal (diligence) or the ability to reach goals (achievement) would enable dental educators to anticipate academic performance. This knowledge could be used to better distribute faculty an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of dental education Vol. 69; no. 4; p. 434
Main Authors: Jedrychowski, Joseph, Lindemann, Robert
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 01.04.2005
Subjects:
Achievement
Aptitude Tests
Attention
Education, Dental
Educational Measurement
Female
Forecasting
Humans
Male
Motivation
Personality Inventory
Reproducibility of Results
Sex Factors
Students, Dental - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
ISSN:0022-0337
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:Utilizing a reliable and valid instrument to measure a student's application of energy and effort towards a goal (diligence) or the ability to reach goals (achievement) would enable dental educators to anticipate academic performance. This knowledge could be used to better distribute faculty and educational resources, as additional tutors could be provided for students who score low on diligence and achievement instruments. In this study, fourth-year dental students completed the Diligence Inventory and the NachNaff Scale (which measures desire to achieve) immediately prior to graduation. The scores from both inventories were correlated with nine measures of academic performance. For males, the NachNaff Scale positively correlated (p<.05) only with the quantity of exceptional performance reports (EPR) and for females negatively correlated only with science DAT scores. The modest positive correlations, which differ for gender, suggest that the NachNaff may be of limited use to predict dental student performance. For males, the Total Diligence mean positively correlated with EPR and National Board Parts I and II scores. For females, the Total Diligence mean positively correlated with EPR and a predental biology-chemistry-physics grade composite. Given the simplicity of the Diligence Inventory and its significant correlations with academic performance demonstrated in this study, it appears to be a useful tool to gain insight into students' diligence in striving to obtain goals.
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ISSN:0022-0337
DOI:10.1002/j.0022-0337.2005.69.4.tb03930.x