Assessment of Laboratory exercises in physiology

Assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process. It contributes to the realization of learning objectives by inculcating habits which are conducive to better scores in the examination. A system of assessing laboratory work which combines the performance of experiments by the student with some short questions based on an instrument, experimental data or tracing has been critically examined. The performance of the student in the two parts of the examination is poorly correlated (r = 0.36 to 0.72), suggesting that they test different abilities, and that combining them may improve the objectivity of the examination. The overall practical assessment is better correlated with the overall theory assessment (r = 0.71, 0.87). The correlation between different forms of examination also improves when only the top 10% and bottom 10% of the class is considered. Since the results quoted are based on only a few examinations at a single medical school, generalizations are not justified.