Drug Information Quizzes as Predictors of Student Success in Integrated Pharmacotherapy Courses

Abstract

Objective: To determine if drug quizzes (DQs) can serve as predictors of student success in pharmacy coursework.

Methods: De-identified student exam and DQ data from 2 courses of the pharmacy curriculum were evaluated over 3 years. One-way analysis of variance, Spearman's rank correlation analysis, and Mann-Whitney U test were utilized to determine significant changes in student performance on exams and DQs over 3 years.

Results: Over 3 years, significant changes in exam performance were accompanied by significant changes in student performance on the respective DQ. A significant positive correlation was observed between student performance on DQ and their scores on respective major examinations in 22 of 24 datasets. Finally, students failing an exam had significantly lower DQ scores compared to students passing an exam in most analyzed datasets across 3 years.

Conclusion: Drug quizzes can serve as a predictor of student success or failure in pharmacy courses.

Keywords: Drug quiz; Midterms; Pharmacy coursework; Student success.