There has been a substantial drop in the pass rate for Part 2 of the General Dental Council’s Overseas Registration Exam, which fell to 27% in September, down from 56% in the previous sitting in April, Dentistry has reported.
Part 2 is the practical side of the exam, comprising four part which must all be passed for an overall pass grade. In the September sitting, the largest proportion of candidates failed just one component (36%), with only two failing all four.
The medical emergencies exercise was the most-failed component at 44%, followed by the objective structured clinical examination at 41%.
96% of candidates passed the diagnosis and treatment planning exercise.
September’s sitting was the first under new contractual arrangements. The General Dental Council stated that these contained “refreshed assessment content to reflect contemporary clinical practice”.
The previous three sitting before April had pass rates between 76-77%.
A The General Dental Council spokesperson said: “Analysis shows that all four components performed reliably, that examiners marked consistently, and that the pass standard was set appropriately.”