The academic value of a class test in a pharmacy undergraduate curriculum

Authors

  • H M Er School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, International Medical University, Malaysia.
  • P C K Pook School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, International Medical University, Malaysia.

Keywords:

Pharmacy, Undergraduate, Assessment, Summative, Formative

Abstract

In this study, the correlation between students’ performances in class test (a summative continuous assessment) and end-of-semester examination of the same module in an undergraduate pharmacy curriculum were evaluated. Besides, the performances of the high and low achievers in the end-of-semester examinations for two integrated body system modules offered in the same semester (one module with class test and one module without class test) were also compared. The results showed that there was no correlation between the class test scores and the end-of-semester examination scores for both the high achievers and low achievers in most cases. This suggests that the students’ performance in class test is not a good indicator of their performance in end-of-semester examination. However, class test may facilitate students’ reflection of their state of learning and preparedness for end-of- semester examination.

References

McLachlan, J.C. (2006). The relationship between assessment and learning. Medical Education, 40, 716-717.

Trotter, E. (2006). Student perceptions of continuous summative assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 31, 505-521.

Tan, C.M. (2002). An evaluation of the use of continuous assessment in the teaching of physiology. Higher Education, 23, 255-272.

Lowry, S. (1993). Assessment of students.British Medical Journal, 306, 51-54.

Relan, A , Guiton, G., Sopher, M. Goldhaber, J. (2006). Do formative assessments promote self assessment accuracy? A study of second year medical students’ predictions about performance, Center for Educational Development and Research, University of California, Los Angeles, Paper AERA 2006a.

Downloads

How to Cite

Er, H. M., & Pook, P. C. K. (2015). The academic value of a class test in a pharmacy undergraduate curriculum. Pharmacy Education, 10. Retrieved from https://pharmacyeducation.fip.org/pharmacyeducation/article/view/265

Issue

Vol. 10 (2010)

Section

Research Article

License

It is a condition of the publication that authors vest or license copyright in their articles, including abstracts, in FIP. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and the journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors may, of course, use the material elsewhere after publication providing that prior permission is obtained from FIP. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.