Factors Associated With Student Performance on the Fourth‐Year Periodontal Competency Examination: A Longitudinal Assessment

ProblemIn predoctoral periodontics, fourth-year dental students are expected to integrate foundational periodontal knowledge with diagnostic reasoning to formulate comprehensive periodontal treatment plans at a practice-ready level [ 1 ].At the University of Maryland School of Dentistry, the fourth-year periodontal competency examination (PERI548 Comp Exam) serves as the final summative assessment of all predoctoral periodontics courses, utilizing open-ended question formats designed to measure clinical reasoning ability [ 2 ].Despite alignment between the examination and curricular objectives, variability in student performance and persistent first-attempt failures on the PERI548 Comp Exam have been observed.Identifying academic factors and clinical experiences associated with student performance is necessary to inform curricular alignment and support student competency development.Although previous studies have examined the association between preclinical and clinical performance in other disciplines [ 3,4 ], periodontics-specific competency development remains underexplored.To address this gap, this study implemented an integrated approach to examine sequential performance across didactic, competency-based, and clinical components in relation to student performance on the PERI548 Comp Exam.