Methods to assess students' acquisition, application and integration of basic science knowledge in an innovative...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Competency-Based Assessment

Background:

• Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine uses formative assessments to foster physician investigators.
• A competency-based curriculum with no grades tracks student progress via e-Portfolios.
• Small class sizes (32 students/year) facilitate individualized feedback.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a systematic approach for assessing medical knowledge using essay-type questions (CAPPs) and short-answer questions (SAQs).
• To provide medical students with weekly formative feedback on acquiring, applying, and integrating scientific concepts.
• To enhance learning and identify performance gaps in a competency-based medical curriculum.

Main Methods:

• Developing performance standards and assessment items (CAPPs and SAQs).
• Training faculty in assessment procedures and reporting.
• Utilizing a case study of a Year 1 course to illustrate data interpretation and e-Portfolio reporting.

Main Results:

• Preliminary evidence indicates a positive impact of CAPPs and SAQs on student education and stakeholder acceptance.
• Two student cohorts exceeded the USMLE Step 1 population mean, suggesting no disadvantage from these assessment methods.
• Further research is needed to establish the reliability and validity of these formative assessment tools.

Conclusions:

• Formative assessment data can promote knowledge application, integration, and identification of learning gaps.
• These methods encourage personalized learning plans and foster student accountability for their education.
• The described approach offers insights for institutions with larger student cohorts.