Assessment of English language performance scores and academic performance in an English-based curriculum for pharmacy students with English as a second language

Abstract

BackgroundThe primary objective was to determine if there is a relationship between English language performance and graduating grade point average (GPA) in pharmacy students with English as a second language (ESL). MethodsStudents graduating from a four-year pharmacy program in 2016–2018 were invited to participate in the study. We compared pharmacy students' pre-admission ESL scores to their cumulative GPA at graduation in each of the three graduating cohorts and also determined if these results held true for both genders. Correlation of GPA to individual mathematics, chemistry, and Chinese language scores were used as points of reference to compare the degree of correlation. ResultsThere were 148 students screened for the study with 31 students not meeting the inclusion criteria and four students declining to participate. Statistical analyses show an overall weak correlation. There was a statistically significant stronger correlation between pre-admission ESL scores and cumulative graduating GPA (r = 0.273) as compared to the correlation of GPA with mathematics (r = 0.187), chemistry (r = 0.181), or Chinese language scores (r = 0.059). The results did not change when the study population was separated by gender as English score still had the strongest correlation as compared to the other subjects. ConclusionThis study provides evidence that English language scores correlate more strongly with academic performance than mathematics, chemistry, or Chinese language scores in ESL pharmacy students. Also, this English language correlation is stronger for females than males.