The use of PLS-PM to analyze progress testing results: the case of Italian degree courses in Dentistry and Dental Prosthodontics

Progress testing is a longitudinal approach based on equivalent tests given at fixed intervals with the intention of assessing the development of functional knowledge or competence. The longitudinal integrated assessment approach has a demonstrable positive effect on student learning behavior. Furthermore, it leads to more reliable decisions as well as having a good predictive validity for future competence or the retention of knowledge. The aim of this paper, on the one hand, is to offer a new perspective on the analysis of progress testing through the use of a growth curve and, on the other, to demonstrate how Partial Least Square Path Modeling can help us to analyze the growth curve. Longitudinal data from progress testing at Italian Dental Schools are analyzed by using a Partial Least Square Path Modeling latent growth curve approach.