How to assess? Perceptions and preferences of undergraduate medical students concerning traditional assessment methods
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
How to assess? Perceptions and preferences of undergraduate medical students concerning traditional assessment methods Anita Holzinger1,2, Stefan Lettner2, Verena Steiner-Hofbauer1 and Meskuere Capan Melser1*
Abstract Background: Medical students’ perception of traditional assessments have an important impact on their approaches to learning. Even though these assessment formats such as Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ), Short Answer Question (SAQ) or oral examinations, are frequently used in medical curricula, only little is known about student’s perceptions of these assessments. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions and preferences of undergraduate medical students concerning traditional assessment formats. Methods: The study was conducted at the Medical University of Vienna. Attitudes of 2nd year undergraduate medical students towards traditional assessment formats, and their relation to students’ learning, and students’ attitude towards objectivity, was inquired using a self-developed questionnaire. Results: 459 students participated in this study. MCQs examinations were the most preferred assessment format and were chosen as the most objective format. Most students agreed that oral examinations are more appropriate for achieving long-term knowledge. Female students showed higher preference for oral examinations than male students. Students would prefer an assessment mix of 41.8% MCQs, 24.0% oral examinations, and 9.5% SAQs, if they were free to choose the assessment tools. Conclusion: Students prefer MCQ format over SAQs/oral examinations. Students’ subjective perception of the importance of gaining long-term knowledge through an assessment has no influence on their assessment preference. Keywords: Traditional assessments, Perceptions of undergraduate medical students, Preferences
Background Assessments in higher education have several functions, including grading, evaluation of student achievement and supporting student’s learning. How to assess in medical education is still the subject of many controversial discussions. Traditional assessment methods like traditional or structured oral examinations, Multiple * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Research Unit for Curriculum Development, Teaching Center/Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 23, Bauteil 87, A-1090 Vienna, Austria Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Choice Question (MCQ) formats, and Short Answer Question (SAQ) formats have been widely criticised for different reasons. Even though MCQ format is an efficient assessment method for universities with large student cohorts - it is objective, transparent, economic, and enables to measure students’ knowledge up to competence level - this format can danger the cumulative learning and long-term retention of medical knowledge [1, 2]. Besides, writing a higher order thinking MC question can be challenging for item writers [3, 4]. SAQ format in turn, can test a wide range of topics with high
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