A plea for the proper use of criterion-referenced tests in medical assessment

Medical Education
Chris Ricketts

Abstract

This paper is aimed at assessment teams which are not steeped in the culture of educational measurement, but, rather, are composed of professionals whose jobs primarily require them to work as clinicians, but whose interest in medical education has given them responsibilities for assessment. It reiterates the difference between criterion-referenced tests and norm-referenced tests. It proposes that those who design and use any assessment in medicine should be clear about which of these approaches to testing they are using. This paper does not present any new results, but synthesises what is already known about norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests by reviewing some of the literature. It explains how these two test paradigms lead to different approaches to test design, different measures of reliability and different standard errors of measurement. It shows how these factors may lead to differences in the standards set for some assessments. Many common medical assessments are assumed to be criterion-referenced but tend to follow norm-referenced practices. Assessment designers should examine the characteristics of each type of assessment to determine which approach is more appropriate and should then apply the correct theo...Continue Reading

References

Oct 28, 1999·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·J J Norcini
Aug 26, 2004·Medical Education·Steven M Downing
Apr 1, 2006·Medical Education·Lambert W T Schuwirth, Cees P M van der Vleuten
Aug 1, 2008·European Journal of Dental Education : Official Journal of the Association for Dental Education in Europe·M Schoonheim-KleinU Van der Velden
Jan 1, 1996·Advances in Health Sciences Education : Theory and Practice·C P Van Der Vleuten

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Citations

Jun 23, 2012·Academic Medicine : Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges·Regina A Richter LaghaCha-Chi Fung
Apr 20, 2011·Medical Education·Chris Ricketts, Rana Moyeed
Dec 14, 2011·Medical Education·Lambert W T Schuwirth, Cees P M van der Vleuten
Sep 22, 2016·Medical Teacher·Matt Homer, Jonathan C Darling
May 26, 2011·Medical Teacher·Lambert W T Schuwirth, Cees P M Van der Vleuten
Dec 24, 2018·BMC Medical Education·Vanda Yazbeck KaramNazih Youssef
May 12, 2016·American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education·Anne Schullo-FeulnerKristin K Janke

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