The modified essay question: effect of author location on student performance

The Department of Family Medicine at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia has utilized the modified essay question (MEQ) as an evaluative instrument in its required third-year clerkship since 1976. Previous analysis had indicated that students who participated in their clerkship at the university family practice centre (FPC) consistently performed at a higher level on their MEQ examinations than students who participated in clerkship activities at affiliated FPCs. In order to test the hypothesis that university-taught students had higher final examination scores because university teachers developed and graded the examinations, MEQs were developed by affiliate teachers and used for one half of five final examinations during the 1982-83 academic year. Students at the university-trained site continued to perform better than affiliated-trained students, even on MEQs developed by their own teachers. These results, as well as the significant administrative time involved in the project, have caused the Department of Family Medicine to revert to its previous policy of university teachers being responsible for the final examination.