Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation
Background: The Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) is a crucial component of the emergency medicine (EM) application process. Given the critical role of the SLOE, we attempted to better understand the grading scales used, as well as the distribution of grades and rank-list positions. Objective...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eScholarship Publishing, University of California
2024-10-01
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| Series: | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21t2495w |
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| author | Alexandra Mannix Thomas Beardsley Thomas Alcorn Morgan Sweere Michael Gottlieb |
| author_facet | Alexandra Mannix Thomas Beardsley Thomas Alcorn Morgan Sweere Michael Gottlieb |
| author_sort | Alexandra Mannix |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) is a crucial component of the emergency medicine (EM) application process. Given the critical role of the SLOE, we attempted to better understand the grading scales used, as well as the distribution of grades and rank-list positions. Objectives: Our primary objective in this study was to determine the distribution of grading formats, grades given, and rank-list positions across EM clerkships using the SLOE. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of the grading formats, grades given, and ranking distributions as reported on the SLOE during the 2022–23 application cycle. We obtained data on SLOEs from EM residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education by reviewing all applicants who applied to either of two EM residency programs in geographically different regions. Trained abstractors recorded the following data: number of students rotating in the prior year; grading format used; and grade and rank distribution among students. Results: We included 264 programs in our final analysis, after 13 programs met exclusion criteria. The majority of programs (72.2%) use an Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail grading scheme. We determined the mean percent of each grade: Honors/A 27.6%; High Pass/B 31.1%; Pass/C 40.8%; Low Pass/D 0.2%; and Fail/F 0.3%. Finally, we determined the mean percent for each rank-list position: top 10% was 17.6%; top third 36.5%; mid third 34.1%; and low third 11.8%. Conclusion: We determined the grading schemes and grade and rank-list distributions for EM programs during the 2022–2023 academic year. Most programs used a Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail grading scheme, with the majority of students receiving Honors or High Pass, while 0.3% failed their rotation. Both grades and rank list demonstrated evidence of a skewed distribution toward higher grades and rank-list position. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a16cb92dd1e4d7a8787b585df0619d5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1936-900X 1936-9018 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-10-01 |
| publisher | eScholarship Publishing, University of California |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a16cb92dd1e4d7a8787b585df0619d52025-02-07T16:29:04ZengeScholarship Publishing, University of CaliforniaWestern Journal of Emergency Medicine1936-900X1936-90182024-10-01261666910.5811/westjem.1868718687Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of EvaluationAlexandra Mannix0Thomas Beardsley1Thomas Alcorn2Morgan Sweere3Michael Gottlieb4University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacksonville, FloridaUniversity of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacksonville, FloridaRush University Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Chicago, IllinoisUniversity of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville, Department of Emergency Medicine, Jacksonville, FloridaRush University Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine, Chicago, IllinoisBackground: The Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) is a crucial component of the emergency medicine (EM) application process. Given the critical role of the SLOE, we attempted to better understand the grading scales used, as well as the distribution of grades and rank-list positions. Objectives: Our primary objective in this study was to determine the distribution of grading formats, grades given, and rank-list positions across EM clerkships using the SLOE. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of the grading formats, grades given, and ranking distributions as reported on the SLOE during the 2022–23 application cycle. We obtained data on SLOEs from EM residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education by reviewing all applicants who applied to either of two EM residency programs in geographically different regions. Trained abstractors recorded the following data: number of students rotating in the prior year; grading format used; and grade and rank distribution among students. Results: We included 264 programs in our final analysis, after 13 programs met exclusion criteria. The majority of programs (72.2%) use an Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail grading scheme. We determined the mean percent of each grade: Honors/A 27.6%; High Pass/B 31.1%; Pass/C 40.8%; Low Pass/D 0.2%; and Fail/F 0.3%. Finally, we determined the mean percent for each rank-list position: top 10% was 17.6%; top third 36.5%; mid third 34.1%; and low third 11.8%. Conclusion: We determined the grading schemes and grade and rank-list distributions for EM programs during the 2022–2023 academic year. Most programs used a Honors/High Pass/Pass/Fail grading scheme, with the majority of students receiving Honors or High Pass, while 0.3% failed their rotation. Both grades and rank list demonstrated evidence of a skewed distribution toward higher grades and rank-list position.https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21t2495w |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Mannix Thomas Beardsley Thomas Alcorn Morgan Sweere Michael Gottlieb Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation Western Journal of Emergency Medicine |
| title | Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation |
| title_full | Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation |
| title_fullStr | Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation |
| title_short | Emergency Medicine Clerkship Grading Scheme, Grade, and Rank-List Distribution as Reported on Standardized Letters of Evaluation |
| title_sort | emergency medicine clerkship grading scheme grade and rank list distribution as reported on standardized letters of evaluation |
| url | https://escholarship.org/uc/item/21t2495w |
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