RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND SUCCESS IN PRECLINICAL COURSES

Purpose. To examine the relationship between critical thinking skills as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) a nd success during the first two years of medical school. Method. The W GCTA was administered to 92 students participating in orientation for the class of 1994. Total scores and subtest scores were calculated for each student. Scores from the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) s ubtests, undergraduate grade-point averages (GPAs), gender, race-ethni city and other premedical data were obtained from admission files. Mea sures of student success in medical school included the final numerica l scores of preclinical courses, preclinical GPA, United States Medica l Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 total score, course remediation s, and alterations in schedules such as reduced loads or repeated year s. Pearson correlation and the t-test were used in the analysis of dat a. Results. WGCTA scores correlated best with MCAT scores for reading skills (r=.57) and quantitative skills (r=.40). Significant correlatio ns were found between WGCTA scores and final scores for nearly all pre clinical courses; however, the only correlations reaching .40 were for Behavioral Science 1 and Biometrics. Correlations between WGCTA score s and first- and second-year GPAs and scores on the USMLE Step 1 were between .33 and .36. The WGCTA scores for students who had extended ti me to meet course requirements or altered their curricula were signifi cantly lower than those of students who neither took extended time nor changed their academic schedules. Conclusion. Critical thinking skill s as measured by the WGCTA are moderately predictive of academic succe ss during the preclinical years of medical education.