Outcomes and scores

Your Situational Judgement Test (SJT) score is final and cannot be re-marked or disputed.

SJT outcomes

You'll be notified of your equated SJT score and SJT banding through the Oriel Application Summary Screen by Tuesday 1 April 2025. Please click on the tick above Shortlist to view your equated SJT score and View station scores to view your SJT banding. The SJT band descriptors can be found below.

Situational Judgement Test outcome band descriptions

Band	Description
Band 1	Description Poor level of performance, with judgement tending to differ substantially from the judgement of the panel of experts
Band 2	Description Below average level of performance, with some appropriate judgement but some differing from the panel of experts
Band 3	Description Good level of performance, with judgement frequently in line with that of the panel of experts
Band 4	Description Very good level of performance, with similar judgement to the panel of experts

Your scaled SJT score will form part of the final score you receive as part of the Dental Core Training (DCT) recruitment process and thus your overall rank. You'll receive this through the Oriel Application Summary Screen by Thursday 22 May 2025.

Scoring scale and maximum achievable score

The raw SJT scores for DCT applicants are standardized (referenced in relation to the mean/Standard Deviation of the entire cohort’s performance) and then scaled. This is to ensure it carries the correct weighting in line with other elements of the selection process for the level of DCT applied to.

The psychometric term of ‘scaling’ does not simply mean having the scores on a particular range of numbers. Even if two tests have the same range of scores, it does not mean that they are comparable and does not mean they are equally weighted. The purpose of scaling is to make sure that each component score has the same unit of measurement (determined by the Standard Deviation of the cohort’s scores) so that when the scores are added together, they are appropriately weighted.

DCT SJT scores across multiple forms are equated first and then are scaled so that they can be combined with results from the rest of the selection process and appropriately weighted as intended. The SJT score is scaled so that it receives the same unit of measurement and therefore equal weighting to the clinical scenario and clinical governance, quality improvement and professional skills scenario.

SJT scores are scaled by looking at the population (group) that completed the full selection process for the level of DCT vacancy applied to, for example, DCT1 or DCT2/DCT3. All DCT2/3 applicants with SJT scores who completed the virtual interview will be grouped together.

The SJT equated scores will be re-scaled onto a 0 to 80 point scale. In this scale, the order of candidates’ original SJT scores is preserved. The highest SJT score of the population who attended interview will result in a score at the top end of the new scale, which may not always reach 80. The lowest score of the population who attended interview will result in a score at the bottom end of the new scale, which may not always reach 0. The average scaled score usually sits approximately in the middle of the scale. However, depending on the performance of the population, the mean score may be lower or higher to ensure the entire distribution of scores fits in the 0-80 range, while having the right unit of measurement to achieve the desired weighting of each element of the selection process.

If your score was several standard deviations below the average score of the whole population who attended interview, your scaled score may be calculated at 0. If your score was one of the highest of those in the population who attended interview, your scaled score may be calculated at 80.

Appealing the outcome

The scores awarded are final and cannot be reviewed, re-marked or disputed. There is no appeals process.

If you feel your application has not been managed correctly and have evidence of a failure in the process, please review the Medical and Dental Recruitment and Selection (MDRS) Complaints Policy 2024.