Abstract
Background The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions assessment used by a consortium of universities across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, to aid the selection of applicants to medical and dental degree programmes. The UCAT aims to measure the mental aptitude and professional behaviours required to become successful doctors and dentists. We conducted a systematic review to establish the predictive value of the UCAT across measures of performance at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Methods A literature search was conducted in April 2020 using eight electronic databases: MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, SCOPUS, Web of Science, EThOS, OpenGrey, PROSPERO, and the UCAT website. Data were extracted from selected studies and tabulated as results matrices. A narrative synthesis was performed. Results Twenty-four studies satisfied our inclusion criteria, 23 of which were deemed to be of good quality (using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale). For over 70% of univariate data points, the UCAT exerted no statistically significant predictive validity; for the remainder, predictive power was weak. The cognitive total and verbal reasoning subtests had the largest evidence base as weakly positive predictors of academic performance. The SJT subtest was a weak predictor of professional behaviour during medical school. Studies specific to dental schools demonstrated variable findings across the five studies. Only 1 study looked at post-graduate outcome measures and demonstrated that the UCAT was not a predictor of health- or conduct-related fitness to practice declarations at GMC registration. Conclusions These data provide some support for the use of cognitive total and verbal reasoning subtests as part of medical school selection. Further research is needed to investigate outcomes beyond professional registration and for dental students.
Highlights
The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an aptitude test deployed by a consortium of universities in the selection of medical and dental students for both undergraduate and graduate-entry programmes
Some studies had corrected for restriction in range and used multiple imputations of data whereas others had not. We addressed this heterogeneity by categorising predictor variables into UCAT subtests and total scores, and outcomes variables into pre-clinical vs. clinical assessments, knowledge vs. skills-based assessments, course completion, measures of professional behaviour, UK Foundation Programme (UKFPO) outcomes, and fitness to practice declarations
Most were of weak effect size (± SS, n 1⁄4 50 univariate data, n 1⁄4 2 multivariate data), few were of medium effect size, and none were of large effect size. This may partly be explained by the fact that some studies had not corrected for restriction in range despite the UCAT having been used as an admissions tool in the selection of the study population
Summary
The UCAT (introduced in 2006, and known until 2019 as the UKCAT) is an aptitude test deployed by a consortium of universities in the selection of medical and dental students for both undergraduate and graduate-entry programmes. The UCAT cognitive total and verbal reasoning scores have the largest evidence base as weakly positive predictors of academic performance and UK Foundation Programme outcomes. The University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT) is an admissions assessment used by a consortium of universities across the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, to aid the selection of applicants to medical and dental degree programmes. The cognitive total and verbal reasoning subtests had the largest evidence base as weakly positive predictors of academic performance. 1 study looked at post-graduate outcome measures and demonstrated that the UCAT was not a predictor of health- or conduct-related fitness to practice declarations at GMC registration. Further research is needed to investigate outcomes beyond professional registration and for dental students
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