Understanding Assessment in Education

What is assessment?

• Assessment is a way to measure a student's knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs.
• Used to determine success and diagnose problems
• Useful for students to track their learning and improve
• Also used to compare and rank students

When?

• Formative assessment is used during the course for improvement before the summative assessment
• Summative assessment is used to evaluate and measure the full outcomes

Formative Assessment

• Focuses on development and improvement
• Examples include pre-reading quizzes, think-pair-share, practical quizzes, problem-based learning, and multiple-choice questions

Summative Assessment

• Focuses on final outcomes
• Often includes continuous assessment, assignments, practical exams, and final written exams
• Occurs at the end of a course

Assessment Domains

• Includes knowledge and understanding, intellectual skills, clinical, procedural, and technical skills, professional attitudes and behavioral skills, communication skills, and general and transferable skills

How?

• Assessments should be aligned with the intended learning outcomes (ILOs)
• Course content, teaching methods, and assessment methods should be aligned to ensure effective learning
• Written exams, OSPE (objective structured practical examination), OSCE (objective structured clinical examination), assignments, and portfolios are all types of assessment methods used

Written Exams

• Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) - Multiple choices given for each question, with one correct answer
• Extended Matching Questions (EMQs) - Similar to MCQs, but built around a theme with option lists, lead-in statements, and stems (scenarios)

Practical Exams

• Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) - Practical skills are tested in real-life settings
• Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) - Similar to OSPE, but with more focus on clinical skills

Other Methods

• Short answer questions are used in the pre-clerkship phase
• Modified Essay Questions (MEQ) are used in the clerkship phase, focusing on problem-solving and decision-making abilities

Graduation Requirements

• Students must pass all core and elective courses with a minimum CGPA of 2.00
• Portfolio evaluation is also required
• Elective course marks do not count towards the overall graduation cumulative marks
• Honors are awarded to students with a CGPA of 3.00 or higher across all semesters with no failing grades

Violations of Exams Regulations and Academic Integrity

• Disobeying examination instructions, including repeated talking, using mobile devices, and exchanging tools or information during exams
• Cheating, which includes using unauthorized materials, exchanging answers, and failing to observe academic integrity regulations
• Offending the invigilator or exam supervision authority, verbally or physically
• Impersonation of another student to sit for the exam

Consequences of Violations

• Oral warning for minor violations
• Dismissal from the exam and a grade of "zero" for repeated offenses
• Failing the subject in question for cheating
• Failing all courses registered for the semester and suspension of registration for the following semester for severe violations
• Final expulsion from the Academy for impersonation

Resources

• Morrison J. ABC of learning and teaching in medicine: Evaluation., BMJ: British Medical Journal. 2003 Feb 15;326(7385):385
• ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION IN EDUCATION.Tomás de Aquino Caluyua Yambi 2018
• Amin Z, Chong YS, Khoo HE. Practical guide to medical student assessment. World Scientific; 2006.