Aptitude test for studying medicine in Austria

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From 2006 to 2012, the aptitude test for medical studies in Austria ( EMS-AT ) was used at the Medical Universities of Innsbruck and Vienna as a subject-specific study aptitude test for admission to medical studies. The same test version was used on the same day as in Switzerland; provision and evaluation were carried out by the Swiss Center for Test Development and Diagnostics on a license basis. The Swiss side terminated this cooperation from 2013.

Austria's own MedAT admission procedure has been used since 2013 . This was developed jointly by the state medical universities and applies to the medical universities of Vienna, Innsbruck, Graz and Linz.

Legal basis

After a ruling by the European Court of Justice in July 2005, Austria had to open its universities to applicants from other EU countries. Previously, in Austria a place at university was required in the country of origin in order to gain access to Austrian universities (country of origin principle). As German students feared that the Austrian universities would be overburdened, the universities were given the opportunity to choose their future students in eight subjects, including medicine. A quota system plays a special role, according to which 75% of the study places are reserved for applicants with an Austrian school-leaving certificate or equivalent citizens (South Tyroleans, Luxembourgers, Liechtensteiners). 20% are reserved for people who completed their school-leaving certificate within the EU, 5% for those who did so outside the EU.

In Austria , universities have autonomy with regard to the choice of selection procedure. In 2006, a tried-and-tested solution for licensing regulation had to be found very quickly after the date of the postmark of the registration for the admission counted in 2005, which could not be repeated. Switzerland agreed to help at short notice and to temporarily carry out the EMS together. There were also national peculiarities from 2006 to 2012: For example, the Medical University of Graz used a knowledge test as a selection procedure (wherever comparable, in 2012 even greater gender differences in favor of men occur). In 2012, a special approval procedure (EZS-AT) for dentistry was used in Innsbruck and Vienna. It consisted of an EMS (EMS-Z) shortened to 7 subtests and a manipulative dexterity test, the results of which were averaged using given weightings (70:30). In September 2012, the Swiss side canceled the further provision of EMS versions for Austria.

Gender differences in the results in Austria

It was found that female participants on average performed worse than males in the test, especially in Austria, in all years. The mean difference between the sexes for Switzerland was always in the range of about one to two test value points (i.e. 0.1 to a maximum of 0.2 standard deviations ) at the limit of significance - it corresponded almost exactly to real differences in test success, while in Austria it was in the Years 2006 and 2007 as well as 2009 was approx. 0.4 standard deviations. In 2008, however, it had decreased, which can be attributed to the awareness-raising and corresponding measures resulting from the discussion in the two previous years. In 2009 it increased again slightly and in 2010 and 2011 it is still 4 test values ​​or 0.4 standard deviations. Such differences are also not reported in the test used in Germany for medical courses .

In almost all task groups, the mean values ​​of either one or the other sex are better, with female participants doing better in the memory tests (learning figures and learning facts) as well as in “concentrated and careful work” in Switzerland, but the average values ​​in most of the other subtests Male participants perform better. This difference is clearest in Austria v. a. in the subtests “Quantitative and Formal Problems” and “Diagrams and Tables” and in 2011 “Basic medical and scientific understanding” in favor of men. Differences in “spatial imagination” are less dominant than claimed: with “tube figures” the difference is only about 1 point, with “learning figures” women are even better than men.

Possible causes for the gender differences in Austria

With regard to these differences, the debate was conducted about whether they are test-related (and a “gender-fair” test that still records suitability could be developed) or whether these suitability differences exist objectively and a test must even map them, as long as the study requirements are high mathematical and scientific skills are required.

The educational psychologist Christiane Spiel tried to explain these differences in a study in Austria in 2008 and primarily cites classic role models as the cause, which also have an effect in school lessons. In her evaluation of the aptitude tests, she writes: “The findings show two things.

  • First, there is a linear relationship between grades in the science subjects and performance in the aptitude test. The better the middle school grades, the better the test performance.
  • Second, the findings show a clear gender difference. With the same school grades, women have significantly poorer test results for all school grades. The differences are substantial. [...] The difference in test performance is therefore 5.39 points with the same school grades. "

Classic role models should still shape the educational behavior of many caregivers and teachers. Girls are praised more for diligence and adaptation - boys have higher performance demands, especially in math and science. Girls are also often told that mathematics is not very relevant to their job. A circular process then starts in which girls develop less confidence in their mathematical and scientific skills, which affects motivation and investment for the subjects and is then reflected in lower ability (performance). This means that everyone involved in socialization must participate in changing the framework conditions at a very early stage. However, this also means that the differences found in the test itself should not be surprising.

The educational scientist Ferdinand Eder from Salzburg was able to identify differences in grades between boys and girls in Austria: Boys often get worse grades than girls for comparable performance, while girls receive an “amount bonus” in their professional grades. The better assessment can have a distorting effect on the self-assessment of one's own performance and also influence the behavior in choosing a course in such a way that the higher mathematical and scientific requirements of a medical course are underestimated. Interest in mathematical and scientific issues also seems to differ and this should be encouraged more, especially among women, because medical studies require this.

The results of the last PISA study in 2009 also showed a difference of −6 (the mean for all countries is 0) for natural sciences and −19 (here the mean even +14) in favor of boys in Austria (negative signs indicate better values ​​for boys). When it comes to reading skills, women are better at +41; the mean for all countries is +39. In particular, Spiel’s conclusions regarding mathematics are confirmed - here even in more representative samples for the age group than the medical applications are.

The average grades for the first examination in the course (SIP-1) for men and women are the same. The groups admitted do not differ in terms of academic success (at the cost of the lower admission rate for women). The first evaluation in 2007 showed that the SIP-1 point value correlated with the EMS value for women with 0.53 - for men with 0.50, there is the same prediction relationship for both sexes. According to the evaluations of the ZTD, the test therefore predicts suitability for study without distortion and equally good for both sexes. See also the ZTD's statement on the study by Spiel.

Whether individual questions work differently for men and women was checked using the internationally customary DIF procedure for this question . In Switzerland, items that function differently in different language groups are identified and corrected if necessary. However, no systematic differences could be identified here either; in 2007 only 2 and in 2008 only 3 of the 178 items showed DIF.

The results of the admission test that was carried out in Graz at the same time also show that the differences are primarily in the natural sciences. In 2012, 57% women applied there, only 42% were admitted. This difference of 15 percentage points even represents a maximum for all years and locations. There, the differences result primarily from the knowledge part, especially the area of ​​physics. This part of the test most closely resembles a standardized Matura test - the results also confirm the results of the study by Spiel. Comparable gender differences in two completely different tests (one knowledge test, one aptitude test) indicate that these are not test-related, but that they are objective differences.

Gender-specific evaluation at the Medical University of Vienna 2012

Due to the previously different probabilities of admission for men and women, the Medical University of Vienna made the decision for 2012 that the test value should be determined on a gender-specific basis. The gender-specific evaluation adopted there means that group-specific mean values ​​and standard deviations are used for women and men when calculating the test values. Since women do worse on average, this actually means an increase in the test values ​​for women and a decrease in the test values ​​for men. The "average man" and the "average woman" each have a test value of 100

The student body at the Medical University of Vienna had announced in advance that it would provide financial and legal support to willing students, but then withdrew this offer. In order to avoid legal action by the boys concerned, the medical university made 60 additional study places available this year, which, however, were not given to those affected, but were distributed again according to the gender-specific ranking list. This meant that a large number of the prospective students who were disadvantaged in the regular procedure were given a place at the university, although men lower in the ranking were again disadvantaged.

The choice of compensation for disadvantages was weighed against the principle of equal treatment (same suitability = same chance of admission) as a priority. Because of the so-called "paternoster effect" (I prefer one, I disadvantage others in the same way) there were individual disadvantages. The reason given for this compensation "If a group does significantly less well, then it is obvious that something is wrong with the procedure" contradicts the Swiss test provider with reference to the findings that there are actual differences in suitability that a test is initially also must map. The decision for a gender-specific evaluation is politically justified; for psychodiagnostic reasons, it would only be necessary if the test systematically underestimated the suitability of women. However, based on the empirical evidence, there are no indications for this.

The decision to use gender-specific analysis was criticized in the Austrian and German media. A contribution in the Standard compiled votes and found a lot of reader comments. Among other things, the author of the evaluation study, Christiane Spiel, was quoted there: "I said years ago that a gender-specific evaluation is not a solution, because it does not change the actual problems." The EMS shows the disadvantages that girls experience With regard to school socialization.

The Constitutional Court decided on the appeal of a rejected student in a Regulation examination procedure that the measure is not classified as unconstitutional because it was used only as a transitional constellation and other measures could not eliminate the gender differences.

2012 was the only year in which the Medical University of Vienna had the test performed on a gender-specific basis. After restructuring the admission procedure, which since 2013 has been asking not only cognitive abilities, but also Matura knowledge in natural science subjects, a clear difference in performance between the sexes was again found.

No gender-specific analysis in Innsbruck

No change was made at the Medical University of Innsbruck ; the test was evaluated in the same way for men and women as before.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Message in the BLOG of the ZTD
  2. ↑ Medizinstudieren.at
  3. ↑ Comparison of applicant and admission rates by gender
  4. ↑ FAQ on EMS page 24 (PDF; 371 kB)
  5. ↑ Report 11 on EMS-AT 2011
  6. ^ Report 10 EMS-AT
  7. ^ A b Christiane Spiel, Barbara Schober, Margarete Litzenberger: Evaluation of the aptitude tests for medical studies in Austria. (PDF, 28MB) Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna , 2008, p. 163 , accessed on October 1, 2018 .
  8. ^ Christiane game, Barbara Schober, Margarete Litzenberger: Evaluation of the aptitude tests for medical studies in Austria. Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna 2008, p. 192. Online .
  9. ↑ Study by EDER at ORF.at
  10. ↑ OECD (2010), PISA 2009 Results: What Students Know and Can Do: Student Performance in Reading, Mathematics and Science (Volume I), OECD Publishing
  11. ↑ Report 11 on EMS-AT 2011 "
  12. ↑ Klaus D. Hänsgen: Statement on the report "Evaluation of the aptitude tests for medical studies in Austria" by Chr. Spiel u. a. on behalf of the bm: wf from January 2008 , February 29, 2008, Center for Test Development and Diagnostics, University of Friborg Switzerland.
  13. ↑ Report 2007 on EMS-AT p. 57ff
  14. ↑ Report 2008 on EMS-AT p. 53ff
  15. ^ The standard of August 1, 2012
  16. ↑ § 10 (1) of the 7th amendment to the ordinance on admission restrictions for the diploma courses in human and dental medicine at the Medical University of Vienna, p. 8 (PDF; 99 kB)
  17. ↑ Report 11 on EMS-AT 2011
  18. ↑ Women preferred for medical admission test. ORF , accessed on July 14, 2012 .
  19. ↑ Rosa Schmidt-Vierthaler: Med-Uni Wien: Test evaluated for the benefit of women. DiePresse.com , May 10, 2012, accessed on July 14, 2012 .
  20. ↑ After protest against gender evaluation: 60 more places for medical studies. vienna-online, September 17, 2012, accessed October 17, 2014
  21. ^ The standard of August 6, 2012
  22. ↑ page on the EMS of the ZTD
  23. ↑ Medical test: men feel disadvantaged. In: derStandard.at. August 3, 2012, accessed December 18, 2017 .
  24. ↑ knowledge V 5 / 2014-17 of the Constitutional Court of 27 September 2014 called up in the legal information system of the Republic of Austria on 28 October, 2014.
  25. ↑ Medical admission tests 2013: Women did worse this year too. studium.at, August 8, 2013, accessed on October 17, 2014