Determining the Correlation Between Language Scores Obtained by Medical Students in their University Entrance and Comprehensive Medical Basic Sciences Exams

Background and Purpose: Some professors and educators in the field of English language believe that the high grades attained by medical students in their Comprehensive Medical Basic Sciences Exam (CMBSE) are mainly a result of the students prior fluency in the language before entering medical colleges; they are of the opinion that these grades are not necessarily a result of the combined effort of the English teachers and students in language courses at the university. This research aims at determining the correlation between the level of fluency in English of medical students prior to university entrance and the grades obtained by them in their CMBSE after 3 terms of language courses at the university. Methods: Seven of the major and smaller universities of medical sciences were selected. The language scores of 2426 students admitted to these universities during the three academic years of 1999 to 2002 in both the National University Entrance Examination (NUEE) and the Comprehensive Medical Basic Sciences Exam (CMBSE) were obtained from their related universities and from the secretariat of the Council of Medical Basic Sciences Education respectively. The language scores of each student obtained in both NUEE and CMBSE were then matched. The related SPSS software was used to assess the level of correlation between these two groups of language scores for the students of each university, for each academic year and semester and also the overall score for the three years. Results: Overall a positive and moderately significant correlation was found between the NUEE language scores and those of the CMBSE of the students of the universities studied (P<0/001; R=443%). The level of correlation for the various universities studied differed (Max. 69%, min.27%). A comparison of the means of these two groups of scores also confirmed this correlation. Conclusion: students’ grades The NUEE language score was not the only factor affecting the student’s CMBSE score; other factors such as the university’s English teachers, existence or lack of a good language department, the attitude of university officials towards language teaching also played an important role in the students’ grades. Key Words: COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL BASIC SCIENCES EXAMINATION, ENGLISH LANGUAGE, UNIVERSITY RANKING, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY ENTRANCE EXAMINATION