The continual assessment of medical students

At the new Medical Faculty at the University of Dar-es-Salaam (East Africa) a number of innovations were instituted. The most significant was continual assessment of students. During the first 3 years of the course, results of weekly testing may comprise three-fourths of each student's assessme...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMedical education Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 15
Main Authors Gosling, H, Nhonoli, A M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 01.01.1978
Subjects
Curriculum
Education, Medical, Undergraduate
Educational Measurement
Reinforcement (Psychology)
School Admission Criteria
Tanzania
Tanzania
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Summary:At the new Medical Faculty at the University of Dar-es-Salaam (East Africa) a number of innovations were instituted. The most significant was continual assessment of students. During the first 3 years of the course, results of weekly testing may comprise three-fourths of each student's assessment. Later they are assessed on each rotation and clerkship; and these must be completed satisfactorily before Final Examinations are taken. These assessments never contribute less than one-half of the final results. Failures were reduced from 10 to 2% with no reduction in standards or performance levels. The method utilizes Reinforcement Theory techniques; specifically referred to are schedules of testing, grades as reinforcers, and frequent feed-back for students, self-shaping of study strategies and for constant surveilance of its teaching by the Faculty.
ISSN:0308-0110
1365-2923
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2923.1978.tb00318.x