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Background <p>Many medical schools offer flexible exam scheduling to accommodate life events, but data on its impact on academic performance is limited. This study evaluated student scheduling preference and exam performance.</p> Methods <p>This was a retrospective analysis at a US medical school where students opt to complete exams on Friday or Sunday on an exam-by-exam basis. Those who utilized flexible scheduling were classified as flexible exam takers. Chi-square and unpaired student <i>T</i>-tests were used to compare days and scores. Multivariable regression was used to model the relationship between exam taking habits on individual scores and failure rates.</p> Results <p>Out of 289 students, 203 (70.2%) were flexible in exam scheduling during their preclinical years. Of 6338 exams, 5061 (79.9%) were taken on Fridays. Scores of Friday exams were higher (83.8% ± 6.7) than Sunday exams (81.7% ± 7.5; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.001). Sunday exams had 2.34 higher odds of failing (&lt; 70%). Students preferring Friday exams had higher MCAT scores (514.3 vs 512.0, <i>p</i> = 0.045). Multivariable regression revealed that flexible exam takers had 2.2% lower exam averages and 0.7 more failed exams when controlling for MCAT scores (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.001).</p> Conclusion <p>Friday was the preferred exam day. Flexible scheduling was popular and its use did not practically impact the number of exam failures. Given its popularity among students, flexible scheduling should be recognized as a viable strategy to boost student morale. Further studies are needed to explore its effects on board exam scores and graduation timelines.</p>

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Does Academic Performance During Pre-clinical Years in Medical School Vary with Flexible Exam Scheduling?

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年3月1日

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  • Asahi Murata,
  • Rebecca Ann King,
  • Jeremi Smith,
  • Christopher M. Burns

摘要

Background

Many medical schools offer flexible exam scheduling to accommodate life events, but data on its impact on academic performance is limited. This study evaluated student scheduling preference and exam performance.

Methods

This was a retrospective analysis at a US medical school where students opt to complete exams on Friday or Sunday on an exam-by-exam basis. Those who utilized flexible scheduling were classified as flexible exam takers. Chi-square and unpaired student T-tests were used to compare days and scores. Multivariable regression was used to model the relationship between exam taking habits on individual scores and failure rates.

Results

Out of 289 students, 203 (70.2%) were flexible in exam scheduling during their preclinical years. Of 6338 exams, 5061 (79.9%) were taken on Fridays. Scores of Friday exams were higher (83.8% ± 6.7) than Sunday exams (81.7% ± 7.5; p < 0.001). Sunday exams had 2.34 higher odds of failing (< 70%). Students preferring Friday exams had higher MCAT scores (514.3 vs 512.0, p = 0.045). Multivariable regression revealed that flexible exam takers had 2.2% lower exam averages and 0.7 more failed exams when controlling for MCAT scores (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Friday was the preferred exam day. Flexible scheduling was popular and its use did not practically impact the number of exam failures. Given its popularity among students, flexible scheduling should be recognized as a viable strategy to boost student morale. Further studies are needed to explore its effects on board exam scores and graduation timelines.