Application of the Angoff Standard-Setting Method in Dental Education: A Scoping Review

This study aims to systematically map and synthesise the existing evidence regarding the application of the Angoff and Modified Angoff standard-setting methods within dental education. Standard-setting plays a critical role in competency-based assessment by establishing defensible cut-off scores that distinguish minimally competent candidates from those who do not meet required professional standards. Despite the widespread adoption of the Angoff method in health professions education, its implementation, methodological variations, and educational implications within dental education have not been comprehensively examined. The present scoping review is conducted following the methodological framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley and reported in accordance with the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The review seeks to address the following objectives: To identify and map the current body of literature describing the use of Angoff and Modified Angoff standard-setting methods in dental education; To examine how these methods are implemented across different assessment formats, disciplines, and educational contexts; To explore reported reliability, validity, and factors influencing variability in cut-off scores; To identify challenges, limitations, and potential areas for methodological refinement in standard-setting practices. A comprehensive search will be conducted across multiple electronic databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar, alongside targeted searches of key dental education journals. Eligible studies will include empirical research involving undergraduate or postgraduate dental learners where Angoff-based standard-setting methods are applied. Study selection, data extraction, and synthesis will be performed independently by multiple reviewers to enhance methodological rigour. The expected outcomes of this review include a structured overview of current practices, identification of methodological trends and gaps, and recommendations to inform evidence-based assessment design in dental education. The findings are anticipated to support dental educators, assessment designers, and accreditation bodies in refining competency benchmarks and improving transparency and defensibility in summative assessment decision-making.