UKCAT Clinical Aptitude Test helps some universities distinguish between the plethora of high “a level” entrants they receive, testing candidate’s verbal reasoning and decision skills, as well as their mental abilities, attitude and professional behaviour.
To see if the test was fair, researchers at Nottingham University’s medical school analysed 9,884 applicants in 2006 who had acheived at least three passes at A-level. The idea was to see if the test added value to the selection process. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, showed that although test results showed a link between A-level and UKCAT scores, there was a bias towards certain groups of people and universities should be cautious about using it, or any other test, as part of their admissions process.
The study concludes: “This study of a major sub-group of applicants in the first year of operation suggests that it has an inherent favourable bias to male applicants and those from a higher socio-economic class or from independent or grammar schools.”