Comparison of performance of students from different high school systems in medical sciences at Kuwait University

Data, although limited, question the validity of the formula applied for admission to the medical school in which high school grades are the only preselection variable applied. Comparison between two groups of students from two different high school systems in Kuwait was carried out to determine if the admission criteria used currently for entry to the medical school are equally valid for both groups. The results are based on the students' performances in the first three-semester programme of medical sciences. Subjects covered were anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and behavioural sciences. The group derived from the High School National Diploma performed significantly better with a percentage pass rate of 82% while of those who were derived from the Course Credit System only 61% passed the final examination. In addition, only one of the latter group attained total marks of more than 80% compared to 12 students from the National Diploma group. The percentage failure according to subjects was consistently higher among the Course Credit graduates in all the subjects. All differences between the two groups are statistically significant (P less than 0.001).