Safeguarding fairness in assessments-How teachers develop joint practices.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Professions Education
• Assessment in Education

Background:

• Reforms necessitate increased transparency in student performance assessments.
• While factors influencing assessment validity and reliability are known, how teachers develop their practice remains understudied.
• This study addresses the gap in understanding teachers' practical development of assessment strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To empirically investigate how teachers' assessment practices evolve during the development and implementation of shared criteria for clinical competency.
• To explore the sense-making processes of teachers engaged in creating and applying joint grading criteria.

Main Methods:

• A narrative-in-action research approach was employed over one year with nine health professions teachers.
• Data collection included observations, interviews, formal documents, and teacher reflections.
• Narrative analysis was used to understand teachers' sense-making regarding joint grading criteria.

Main Results:

• Shared assessment practice development spanned years, evolving through teachers' increased scrutiny of criteria.
• Teachers were motivated by fairness and a moral obligation to patients, navigating dilemmas in applying standardized criteria.
• The process highlighted the embeddedness of assessment standards in local practices and teachers' reasoning about criteria interpretation.

Conclusions:

• Teachers' development of assessment standards is deeply rooted in their specific teaching contexts.
• Joint discussions among teachers are crucial for interpreting assessment criteria effectively.
• Acknowledging diverse approaches to assessment (skills-based vs. holistic) is vital for supporting faculty in developing clinical competency and professionalism assessments.