Identifying the characteristics of high-performing medical students is essential for developing targeted interventions to support underperforming learners. This study examined the relationship between learning and study strategies, as measured by the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI), and academic performance in medical school. The LASSI was administered to 514 medical students (classes of 2019–2023) during the middle of the first year. Pearson product-moment correlation analyses assessed associations between LASSI scale scores and performance in biomedical sciences coursework, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc comparisons were used to evaluate differences in LASSI scores across student performance quartiles. Significant differences were observed in Motivation, Self-Testing, Test Strategies, and Time Management scores between the 4th quartile (top) and the 1st quartile (bottom) across all performance measures. High performers demonstrated greater strategic ability, motivation, and proficiency in self-testing, test-taking, and time management. Motivation, Self-Testing, and Test Strategies were the most consistent predictors of academic success. Motivation, Self-Testing, and Test Strategies were the LASSI scales most strongly linked to academic success. These areas represent critical targets for instructional support and can inform the design of targeted interventions to enhance medical student learning and performance.
Bucci et al. (Sat,) studied this question.