Strategic use of MCQs in undergraduate medical students to improve objectivity of formative assessment.

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Assessment is a matter of continuing concern for medical teacher as it is supposed to steer student learning. Globally there is an increasing trend to move from subjectivity to objectivity. While the universities are custodial for modifying the examinations system as a summative assessment, what is more important for teachers is to mould their formative assessment. University examinations are criticized to be highly subjective and inadequate for covering full range of topics in Pharmacology. Further there is little scope for providing feedback to the students for continuous learning and improvement. In response to this it was decided to introduce multiple choice questions (MCQs) as a tool for formative assessment. Methodology: In the present study, the multiple choice questions were given along with the subjective questionsfrom the same topic to the students. The main aim was to improve the objectivity in students’ assessment by introducing MCQs as a formative assessment tool. To evaluate the affectivity of this pattern of assessment from the student’s viewpoint, we designed a feed back questionnaire which was analyzed. The MCQs were evaluated by doing Item analysis. Results: The overall feedback revealed that 89% of the students were of opinion that MCQs preparation and examination helped them in learning the subject, self studying, reasoning and enhancement of clinical skills. The present study also clearly indicates that MCQs alone are not sufficient to assess learning and should be used along with subjective tests. Conclusion: To make testing and assessment both fair and consequently valid, MCQs should be used strategically to test important subject content and it should be aligned with subjective tests.