Revising the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) to improve impact and washback for candidates and support fair access to test preparation

ABSTRACT

The BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) has been used to select students for healthcare courses for 15 years. Recently, the candidature has included an increasing number of test takers who did not complete their schooling in the UK. In line with responsibilities to promote widening participation, a revision of the Section 2 Scientific Knowledge and Applications specification was conducted, to support the preparation of candidates from under-represented groups and international candidates. The process was guided by validity frameworks established in language testing research, with a particular focus on consequential validity and washback. Candidate surveys are reported to illustrate the focus on test preparation. Issues identified in the review demonstrate the impact of international test-takers’ linguistic backgrounds and differences in teaching approaches, and possible interactions between these are discussed. It is recommended that admissions test developers make use of holistic frameworks of validity from other contexts to systematically interrogate a wide range of validity evidence relating to their tests.

KEYWORDS:

• Medical education
• BMAT
• validity
• test preparation

Disclosure statement

The authors are employed by, or have previously been employed by, Cambridge Assessment which owns and administers the BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT).

Notes

1. General Certificate of Secondary Education; the public examinations taken by most UK students at approximately age 16.

2. UK GCSE students were entered for Science Single Award, Double Award or Triple Award, where they received one, two or three GCSEs for their combined study of Biology, Physics and Chemistry. Science Double Award was the variant for which UK students were most commonly entered.

3. IELTS: International English Language Testing System. IELTS is a high-stakes language test used for study, migration and work. Language proficiency is measured on a nine-band scale.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah McElwee

Sarah McElwee is a Principal Research Manager at Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing and is responsible for managing the research team working on BMAT and other admissions tests to higher education. She holds a PhD in Cognitive Development from Queen’s University Belfast. Her current research interests include the consequences of high-stakes testing and the development and assessment of thinking skills.

Kevin Y.F. Cheung

Kevin Y.F. Cheung is a Principal Research Manager at Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing and a Chartered Psychologist. He holds a PhD from University of Derby on the role of identity in academic writing. His research interests include construct validity in admissions testing and the role of standardised testing in multi-method selection processes.

Stephen R.T. Cromie

Stephen R.T. Cromie is a Senior Assessment Advisor at Cambridge Assessment International Examinations. He previously worked as a Senior Assessment Manager for Science in Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing. Stephen holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics from Queen’s University Belfast.

Mark Shannon

Mark Shannon is Group Assessment Manager for Sciences at Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing. He manages the team responsible for the development and construction of a range of science and mathematics admissions tests, including BMAT Section 2.

Tom Gallacher

Tom Gallacher worked as a Research Analyst at Cambridge Assessment. He was responsible for statistical analysis that supports research and validation activities for admissions tests including BMAT. He holds an MSc in Organisational Psychology from the Manchester Business School and an MA in Psychology from Edinburgh University.