Development of a shared item repository for progress testing in veterinary education

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Education
• Educational Measurement
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Progress testing measures student growth over time in education.
• It provides formative feedback on cognitive skills and identifies curriculum gaps.
• Veterinary education requires standardized assessment tools for quality assurance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a common item repository for progress testing in European veterinary education.
• To develop a validated and calibrated item bank covering EAEVE subjects and Day One Competencies.
• To present challenges and solutions in creating an international veterinary progress test.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative effort involving six European veterinary educational establishments and EAEVE.
• Development of a blueprint, identification of item formats, and a quality assurance process.
• Item trialing, psychometric analysis using Modern Test Theory and Rasch Modeling.

Main Results:

• 1,342 out of 1,836 submitted items were approved for trial.
• 1,119 students participated, generating 1,948 responses across six trials.
• 821 calibrated items covering veterinary knowledge domains have been banked.

Conclusions:

• The item bank is ready for formative progress testing in European veterinary education.
• This initiative supports standardized assessment and quality improvement in veterinary programs.
• The paper discusses practical aspects of establishing international progress testing.