The European society of pathology progress test: towards a European external quality control tool for pathology...

To meet growing demands for accountability in medical education, continuous and objective assessment of trainees is essential. The European Society of Pathology (ESP) offers the ESP Pathology Progress Test (ESP-PPT) to objectively assess trainees and meet growing demands for accountability in medical education. The goal of this report is to address the importance of the ESP-PPT as a potential self-assessment tool. Data from 2018-2024 were analyzed for assessing participation, discrimination capacity and educational value. Participation in the ESP-PPT has grown. Clear distinctions are observed between resident groups and specialist groups, demonstrating the ESP-PPT ability to differentiate levels of experience. Most questions incorporate images and clinical vignettes and cover all cognitive levels according to Bloom's taxonomy, supported by pre-and post-test psychometric analysis. Higher-order questions are more difficult but more discriminative, confirming validity and robustness. The ESP-PPT has proven valuable for self-assessment and benchmarking in pathology training. It provides a standardized and reliable measure of progress. Growing participation and institutional adoption highlight its potential as a Europe-wide tool for external quality assurance in pathology education even in the absence of harmonized curricula across Europe.