Examination performance of dentistry students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Objective The global COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in remote teaching and online assessment in higher education. The examination performance of undergraduate students of dentistry was evaluated to assess any possible association between the altered learning environment and learners’ performance. Materials and methods Using administrative data from the University of Helsinki, the examination performance during the years 2018 and 2019 was compared with that of 2020. Results In 16 out of 22 courses (73%) taught remotely during the pandemic, a statistically significant difference (p < .05) between the awarded grades was observed, as compared to the two previous years. Annual variation in examination grades was common even before the onset of remote teaching, but more so after it. The grade variation during the pandemic was nearly as prevalent towards falling grades (26%) as towards rising grades (36%), implying a multifactorial cause possibly unrelated to remote teaching. Conclusions Our results imply that online teaching did not systematically improve or worsen the examination performance of undergraduate students of dentistry. Our findings have important policy implications for educational practices in the future. The observed annual grade variation might reflect the effectiveness of remote teaching, changes in students’ performance, or non-systematic grading.