The Medical School Performance Evaluation (MSPE) is a comprehensive, standard document of a medical student’s academic performance and professional development. Prepared by the student affairs, medical education, or dean’s office, the MSPE provides residency program directors with a summary of the student’s academic history, salient experiences, and notable attributes, along with contextual information about the medical school’s curriculum, evaluation system, and grading policies.
In 2016, the AAMC MSPE Task Force released recommendations to improve the consistency, transparency, and comparability of MSPEs across medical schools. These recommendations emphasized clearer descriptions of institutional evaluation systems, inclusion of grading practices, and greater standardization of the structure and content of the document. The 2016 recommendations continue to guide MSPE preparation nationally.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, guidance from the Group on Student Affairs Committee on Student Affairs (GSA COSA) MSPE Effective Practices Working Group encouraged schools to clearly describe pandemic-related changes to curriculum and assessment so that residency programs could interpret student performance appropriately. While pandemic-specific disruptions have largely resolved, the emphasis on transparency and contextualization of institutional practices remains an important component of MSPE preparation.
New Initiative to Reimagine the MSPE
The AAMC has launched a new multi-year initiative to re-examine the purpose, format, and future of the MSPE, recognizing that changes in assessment practices, increasing variation in grading systems, and the needs of residency programs for clearer, more interpretable information may require the MSPE to be reimagined. A phased approach is underway to support both near-term clarity and longer-term innovation.
- Phase 1 (January 2026 - March 2026) focuses on targeted guidance for the current 2026 residency application cycle while minimizing disruption to current institutional practices. This expedited phase will specifically address one section of the MSPE – Noteworthy Characteristics.
- Phase 2 (March 2026 - June 2027) will engage the academic medicine community in a broader exploration of whether the MSPE continues to fulfill its intended role and how future, technology-enabled, learner-centered approaches might better communicate learner strengths, developmental progress, and areas for continued growth across the undergraduate medical education (UME) to graduate medical education (GME) continuum.
A volunteer advisory committee has been convened and charged to provide strategic guidance from a UME and GME perspective and help ensure that transparency, equity, and feasibility remain central throughout the project. That committee has provided input into the guidance related to Noteworthy Characteristics for the current 2026 cycle (see below). Although no specific changes are being made to the MSPE template at this time, we do recommend adding a clarifying statement within the document.
Background: The Noteworthy Characteristics section is designed to provide brief, contextual information about a learner that may not be otherwise evident in academic records or clinical narratives. Across medical schools, approaches to developing this section vary and may include learner-contributed content, institutional synthesis, or a combination of both. As a reminder, the current guidance for Noteworthy Characteristics includes:
“Provide a maximum of three characteristics highlighting the most salient noteworthy characteristics of the student. This section should be presented as a bulleted list. Each characteristic should be described in 2 sentences or less. Information about any significant challenges or hardships encountered by the student during medical school may be included.”
New for the 2026 cycle, schools are invited to include in the MSPE a brief clarifying statement about their process of creating Noteworthy Characteristics. The following statement is provided as an example and should be placed just prior to the Noteworthy Characteristics themselves:
“This section reflects information contributed by the learner and reviewed by the medical school for inclusion in the MSPE. Residency programs are encouraged to interpret the Noteworthy Characteristics section as contextual information that complements other components of the application and MSPE, recognizing that practices vary across institutions.”
Guidance and Recommendations Documents
- 2022 MSPE Guidance for Disruptions Related to COVID-19 (PDF)
- 2016 MSPE Task Force Recommendations (PDF)
- 2016 MSPE Template (Word)
Frequently Asked Questions
Working Group Rosters
For questions or comments, please email MSPE@aamc.org.