A longitudinal study of the value of a spatial relations test in selecting dental students.

Potential academic ability, practical skill and personality characteristics should all be assessed in selecting dental students. Of these, practical skill commonly receives the least attention, largely because valid and reliable predictive tests are not available. The Spatial Relations Test, which might be used for this purpose, was administered to 1391 applicants to a dental school. There was little correlation between the results of the test and GCE 'A' level grades, showing that the test measured different abilities. However, there was a strong relationship between poor scores on the test and the number of students resigning from the course or failing to graduate on time.