1. FEC Student and Faculty Forum Should We Change the Medical Student Grading System? How we arrived here… and Where we are going… Revisiting Lauren Wolchok’s Data (c/o 2013)
October 22 & 29, 2013
6:00-7:00p
CHS

2. Current System: Pass/Fail
Pass/Fail System:
“The UCLA SOM has a pure Pass/Fail grading system for all four years.”
During the 3rd year…
Each required clerkship has a (1) clinical evaluation and (2) final exam.
1. Clinical: evaluations submitted by the residents/faculty to Course Chair
5-part criteria
2. Exam: National shelf or exam of the clerkship’s choosing
Have set passing rates you must get above to pass
If a student passes both the clinical and final exam component the first time, the student will receive a “Pass.”
If a student fails the clinical portion of a clerkship and/or the exam, the student will receive a grade of “Fail” and must remediate.
DGSOM Website Policies and Forms  Policies General Guidelines on Pass/Fail Grading (modified)

3. “Only truly remarkable performance will be recognized…”
Current System: LOD
Letter Of Distinction: An opportunity for faculty members to recognize a student who has distinguished himself/herself by demonstrating extraordinary performance…
“Only truly remarkable performance will be recognized…”
LODs are cited in the Dean’s Letter accompanying internship and residency applications…
No LOD maximum or minimum per clerkship (i.e., either several letters or none may be awarded)
Exam Score Minimums: While not required, most clerkships have minimum Shelf Scores cut off the be eligible (normally ~80-85%)
Evaluation Score Minimums: While not required, most clerkships have minimum 5-point evaluation scores required to obtain an LOD (i.e. must have more 5s than 4s)
DGSOM Website Policies and Forms  Policies General Guidelines on Pass/Fail Grading (modified)

4. Background*
The elected representative body of the Faculty of the School of Medicine
Key Responsibility:
Oversee the design and conduct of the academic program of courses and curriculum
A standing subcommittee of the FEC
Key Responsibilities:
Formulate and periodically review the mission statement for undergraduate medical education
To evaluate existing courses and clerkships
To review and recommend revisions of the Medical School curricula *

5. Research: LCME Student Survey
Survey of the entire student body covering varous aspects of student education and wellbeing that was independently created, distributed and analyzed by the Medical Student Council 92% satisfaction with P/F in preclinical years 68% satisfaction with P/F in clinical years 39% believe P/F helpful in applying to residency 26% think LOD awards are transparent 59% do NOT think LOD awards are transparent 22% think LOD awards are fair 42% do NOT think LOD awards are fair
Response Rates: c/o 2012 = 81.4% c/o 2013 = 81.2%, c/o 2014 = 92.4%, c/o 2015 = 91.4%)
--> Students are generally displeased with the Fail/Pass/LOD system of the 3rd year

6. Research: LOD Consistency
LODs in Pediatrics by Site (20% Overall)
0% !!
Pie slices represent the # of students total who were at those sites. % are the amount of students at those sites who were awarded LODs.
TEXT Reference

7. Research: LOD Consistency
LODs in Internal Medicine by Site (23% Overall)
0% !!
Pie slices represent the # of students total who were at those sites. % are the amount of students at those sites who were awarded LODs.
TEXT Reference

8. Research: LOD Consistency
CONCLUSIONS
LOD distribution varied by Site
Range: 0% to 54%
LOD distribution varied by Clerkship
Range: 13-25%
Pie slices represent the # of students total who were at those sites. % are the amount of students at those sites who were awarded LODs.

9. Comparison: Top 30 Schools
77% used 4+ tiers for evaluating
3rd and 4th year medical students
TEXT Reference

10. Proposed Changes Grading Task Force Recommendations:
Move to 4-point grading system in 3rd & 4th years
(Honors, High Pass, Pass, and Fail)
Final clerkship evaluation grade will be comprised of
(1) clinical and (2) exam performance
There should be a clear spell out in the MSPE of
clinical and exam performance separately
Note: These changes would only come into affect for the next incoming class of students (starting with c/o 2018).
FEC WebsiteMEC PageMinutes