Gathering evidence of external validity for the Foundations of Medicine examination: a collaboration between the National Board of Medical Examiners and the University of Minho.

BACKGROUND: To gather evidence of external validity for the Foundations of Medicine (FOM) examination by assessing the relationship between its subscores and local grades for a sample of Portuguese medical students.
METHOD: Correlations were computed between six FOM subscores and nine Minho University grades for a sample of 90 medical students. A canonical correlation analysis was run between FOM and Minho measures.
RESULTS: Moderate correlations were noted between FOM subscores and Minho grades, ranging from -0.02 to 0.53. One canonical correlation was statistically significant. The FOM variate accounted for 44% of variance in FOM subscores and 22% of variance in Minho end-of-year grades. The Minho canonical variate accounted for 34% of variance in Minho grades and 17% of the FOM subscore variances.
CONCLUSIONS: The FOM examination seems to supplement local assessments by targeting constructs not currently measured. Therefore, it may contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of basic and clinical sciences knowledge.