The Angoff method produced lower cut-off scores and higher pass rates than Cohen and Hofstee methods in dental written assessments, especially in early and middle years¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In one included study, the Angoff method resulted in lower cut-off scores, higher pass rates and lower failure rates than the Cohen and Modified Cohen methods, particularly in early and middle clinical years. → Lin Galvin Sim Siang 2026

Evidence¶

Lin Galvin Sim Siang 2026¶

Lin Galvin Sim Siang, Hisham Abdul Rauf Badrul, Majid Muhammad Nazmi Abdul, Foong Chan Choong, Ho Ting Khee, Friedlander Lara T. (2026). Refining competency benchmarks: a scoping review of Angoff standard-setting in dental education. BMC Oral Health. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12903-026-08195-9

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, from Khalid et al.'s comparison of Angoff with relative/norm-referenced, Hofstee and Cohen methods on written assessments, that "The Angoff method resulted in lower cut-off scores, leading to higher pass rates and lower failure rates". The relative method produced results similar to Angoff.

"The Angoff method resulted in lower cut-off scores, leading to higher pass rates and lower failure rates, especially in early and middle clinical years [31]."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Angoff-derived cut-off scores exceeded the arbitrary 60% fixed passing mark, with one study reporting a 74.31% cut-off that would have produced a 41% failure rate — related
• Angoff and Modified Angoff standard-setting show good inter-rater reliability in dental education, with reported coefficients ranging from 0.65 to 0.94 — related
• The Borderline Regression method produced higher OSCE pass rates than Angoff methods (97.5% vs 86.6%) and discrepancies raise concerns for small cohorts — related
• Percentage rating format in the Modified Angoff method yields higher reliability than the Yes/No format, with ICCs of 0.48–0.65 versus a maximum of 0.41 — related
• Contextual factors (learner level, discipline, format) moderate Angoff outcomes — related
• Angoff methods produce significantly higher pass rates than conventional fixed standard-setting methods — related
• Mastery Angoff produces the highest cut scores and lowest pass rates among Angoff variants — related
• Number of judges positively influences cut scores, while test length influences pass rates