Student perceptions of the progress test in two settings and the implications for test deployment.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education Research
• Assessment in Medical Training
• Curriculum Design Impact

Background:

• The Progress Test (PT) assesses learning in integrated medical curricula.
• Implementation of curriculum design and assessment may affect student preparation and learning for the PT.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare student perceptions and preparations for the PT across two medical schools.
• Investigate how different educational environments influence the effectiveness of the PT.

Main Methods:

• Focus groups generated questionnaire items.
• Exploratory factor analysis and ANOVA were used to analyze data from 1054 medical students.
• Questionnaire data compared responses between two medical schools, year groups, and genders.

Main Results:

• Three factors emerged: PT's ability to assess academic learning, support clinical learning, and impact exam preparation.
• Students in a school with early clinical contact, frequent PTs, and no unit tests perceived the PT more favorably.
• These students used deeper learning approaches but dedicated more time to test preparation.

Conclusions:

• Curriculum and assessment delivery significantly shape student study patterns.
• The learning environment critically influences student perceptions of assessment and learning approaches.
• Strategic deployment of the PT is essential for optimizing its impact on medical education.