Video-Recorded Testing for Student Self-Assessment: A randomized crossover study

Purpose Graduates of dental hygiene programs must acquire competence in critical reasoning by developing proficiency in self-assessment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of video-recorded testing compared to direct observation testing on student self-assessment scores, self-assessment accuracy and student retest scores, and to ascertain which modality was preferred by faculty and students.Methods A randomized crossover AB/BA research design evaluated video-recorded testing compared to traditional, direct observation testing. First year dental hygiene students (n=33) were randomly assigned to an AB or BA sequence for preclinical instrumentation skills testing and were evaluated by faculty (n=13). Student self-assessment test scores, faculty test scores, student accuracy scores, and student/faculty surveys were evaluated. Descriptive statistics and parametric independent samples t-tests (p<0.05) were used to analyze the data.Results Mean student self-assessment scores were slightly higher with video testing (93.64%) than with direct observation testing (91.98%). Retest scores were similar between the two testing modalities (video 90.74%; direct observation 93.86%). Mean student accuracy scores were nearly equal with the two modalities (video 93.24%; direct observation 93.1%). There were no statistically significant differences in student accuracy, retest, and self-assessment scores for instrumentation skills testing when comparing the modalities. A majority of students (80%) preferred video testing while all faculty members preferred the direct observation testing modality.Conclusion Students preferred video testing for self-assessment compared to direct observational testing, noting the increased ability to identify and correct mistakes. Faculty acknowledged video-recorded evaluation methods as advantageous in enhancing student self-assessment skills. However, faculty preferred direct observation testing, stating it allowed for a more thorough evaluation of skills. Additional research is needed using high-quality video equipment and longitudinal studies.