Reading level and academic performance of students in a dental auxiliary model curriculum

Abstract

Purpose. The purposes of this study were to: (1) determine if a student's entry reading level affects performance in a Model Curriculum for dental auxiliary education, and (2) determine if a student's reading level is affected by participation in the Model Curriculum. Procedure. This retrospective study involved students enrolled in two dental auxiliary programs chosen to pilot the Model Curriculum. The subjects were 27 third-year dental hygiene students from Eastern Washington University and 18 dental assisting students from Kinman Business University. Prior to beginning the Model Curriculum, Form C of the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT) was administered to all subjects. The subjects were then assigned to one of three groups based on the grade equivalent level achieved on the test. Group A included grade levels 15 or above; Group B, grades 13 and 14; Group C, grades 12 and below. The Model Curriculum consists of a series of self-instructional modules, each of which contained a pretest and a posttest. Data on 35 modules were collected. At the end of the academic year, Form D of the NDRT was administered to all subjects. Results. Analysis of the data revealed that subjects in the high reading group had a significantly higher entry knowledge level on the module pretests than did subjects in the middle or low reading groups. However, it was found that on the module posttests, subjects in the high and middle reading groups were significantly different with higher scores than subjects in the low reading group. When the data from the NDRT were analyzed, it was found that the only significant change in reading level occurred for subjects in Group C.