Associations of Admission Grade Point Average and Postclinical Competency Assessment With American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification Outcomes

ABSTRACT Certification through the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (BOC) examination is an important achievement for medical laboratory science (MLS) graduates and a key indicator of program accountability. This study examined associations among admission grade point average (GPA), postclinical competency scores, and BOC outcomes among MLS graduates during and following the COVID-19 pandemic. A retrospective analysis was conducted using records from graduates at a Midwestern university who completed a 6-month clinical practicum and attempted the BOC within 1 year of graduation (2020–2024). Chi-square analyses were used to compare the observed pass rate with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS) 75% benchmark and to assess associations between admission GPA and BOC outcomes, as well as between postclinical competency scores and BOC outcomes. The BOC pass rate was 67.1%, which did not differ significantly from the NAACLS benchmark but remained 7.9 percentage points lower. No statistically significant associations were found between admission GPA or postclinical competency scores and BOC outcomes. These findings suggest that commonly used academic and program-level metrics may not independently reflect certification readiness and highlight the importance of aligning internal assessments with certification expectations.