PA-CAT Reports & Research Abstracts

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Includes sub-scores for Biology, Chemistry, and Anatomy and Physiology domains.  Shows quintile rankings for all scoring domains.  Statistical analysis of scores including standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis.

Includes latest content and weighting details by subject.  Includes sample score report.

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Researchers found that there was a moderately statistically significant positive relationship between the PA-CAT and both the PA program clinical year GPA and PANCE scores. These early results suggest that the PA-CAT scaled score and comparison percentile could provide a stronger understanding of a PA candidate’s basic science knowledge than using the candidate’s cumulative GPA, science GPA or their GRE score.

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PA-CAT scaled scores have a medium or close to medium statistically significant (p<0.01) positive correlation with clinical GPA (r=0.29), PANCE scores (r=0.38), and PACKRAT 2 scores (r=0.30).

PA-CAT scaled scores explain about 8.3% of the variance in clinical GPA. Undergraduate GPA and undergraduate science GPA do not add much value to the prediction of clinical GPA beyond PA-CAT scaled scores. The three predictor variables together explain about 9.0% of the variance in Clinical GPA.

PA-CAT scaled scores explain about 14.8% of the variance in PANCE scores. Undergraduate GPA and undergraduate science GPA add some value to the prediction of PANCE scores beyond PA-CAT scaled scores. The three predictor variables together explain about 21.8% of the variance in PANCE scores.

PA-CAT scaled scores explain about 9.0% of the variance in PACKRAT 2 scores. Undergraduate GPA and undergraduate science GPA do not add much value to the prediction of clinical GPA beyond PA-CAT scaled scores. The three predictor variables together explain about 11.7% of the variance in PACKRAT 2 scores.

This research study demonstrates the potential value of PA-CAT scores in predicting PA program’s clinical performance, PANCE scores, and PACKRAT 2 scores. The study will be updated when additional data becomes available in the future.

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The tremendous increased interest in the Physician Assistant (PA) profession over the past several years has resulted in a significant increase the number of applications to PA programs and placed a greater burden on PA programs to identify individuals capable of successfully completing the rigorous training. PA programs have traditionally utilized a variety of objective, cognitive measures including undergraduate grade point averages (GPA), science pre-requisite scores, and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score as the cognitive variables to assess an applicant. The use of the GRE score, however as an entrance exam, has steadily decreased over the last decade due to conflicting data regarding its usefulness as a predictor of graduate success on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). GPA scores are not necessarily comparable across institutions, leaving admissions committees without a standard measure against which to evaluate applicants’ likelihood for success. A PA-specific admissions examination that measures basic science knowledge would offer admission committees a standardized measure to objectively compare applicants.

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The researchers ran a regression analysis on the PA-CAT percent score (independent variable) on the A&P course grade and medical science course grade (dependent variables). Both courses showed a moderate positive correlation with PA-CAT scale scores, which A&P being slightly higher.

These early results show that PA-CAT test scores may be useful in identifying students who may struggle in the basic science courses (A&P and Medical Sciences) and who may benefit from a study program prior to starting the PA program.

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FORMAL ABSTRACT

Physician Assistant (PA) programs often set minimum GPA and graduate record examination (GRE) requirements for admission, citing that candidate with higher admission scores will perform better in the PA program. However, to date, there are limited published studies with inconsistent results that have investigated the validity of using these preadmission characteristics to predict performance in PA programs or on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE).  The development of a physician assistant college admission test (PA-CAT) that has predictive validity to determine PANCE success would give PA admissions committees an additional resource to make decisions. This study was conducted to determine the strength of the relationship between PA-CAT and undergraduate cumulative and science GPA.

Methods: The PA-CAT is comprised of 180 questions covering twelve subject areas based on research identifying the relative importance of that subject to success in the PA curriculum. The exam was administered through a secured computer-based testing to 479 newly admitted PA students across the United States. Regression analysis was conducted with Rasch scale scores as the dependent variable and two independent variables (undergraduate GPA and undergraduate science GPA).

Results: The PA-CAT Rasch scale scores are positively correlated with undergraduate GPA (r=0.16) and undergraduate science GPA (r=0.22). Although these correlation coefficients are statistically significant (Conclusion: Early results from this research study demonstrates there is a statistically significant relationship between the PA-CAT and undergraduate science GPA in newly admitted PA students.

Limitations of the study include the fact that students voluntarily took this exam without consequence. Further study is needed to determine if the exam can be generalized to the entire PA applicant pool thereby providing a valid instrument for admissions decisions.

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FORMAL ABSTRACT/BACKGROUND

Candidate selection processes for physician assistant (PA) education admissions is heterogeneous and challenged by a lack of standards or guidance. (1,2)

In the academic and professional literature, there is a dearth of controlled studies, multi-center analyses, or studies of large populations; further, the published studies are small and offer inconsistent results. (1)

A standardized exam for PA applicants may guide admissions decisions and predict student success in achieving the necessary competencies during the program and upon completion.

This study sought to determine the correlation between demographics, undergraduate academic performance, and the PA College Admission Test (PA-CAT), a standardized exam developed by Exam Master® Corporation for use in PA admissions.

1. Moore S, Clark C, Haught A, et al. Factors associated with academic performance in physician assistant graduate programs and national certification examination scores: a literature review. Health Professions Education. 2018. doi: 10.1016/j.hpe.2018.06.003

2. Honda T, Patel-Junankar D, Baginski R, Scott R. Admissions variables: predictors of physician assistant student success. J Physician Assist Educ. 2018;29(3):167-172. doi:10.1097/JPA.0000000000000212

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