We have gathered 4 of what we consider must-read articles about assessment.

See below what our experts say about these paper. Helpful links are provided to find them on the internet.

Expert Prof. Cees van der Vleuten:
This paper provides a state-of-the art account of how learning may be promoted by assessment. It is about the right alchemy. The alchemy consists of assessment of and for learning strategies, learner perceptions about these, the relationships between learner and assessor, the culture in which the assessment takes place and the organization around assessment.Each of these elements may create tensions and may hamper or foster learning. In the words of the authors: “The challenge is how to align these strategies so that they may complement one another, rather than pulling in opposite directions” (p. 6). Getting the alchemy right is what lies ahead of us. This paper is a “must-read” for anyone interested in assessment and learning!

Expert dr. Amir Sam:
Single best answer questions (SBAQs) are widely used in undergraduate and postgraduate medical assessments. However, SBAQs may not provide a true reflection of knowledge as they rely on answer recognition. Amir Sam and colleagues conducted a prospective randomised study to evaluate the reliability, discrimination and acceptability of open‐ended very short answer questions (VSAQs) delivered using a novel online tool that facilitates efficient marking. Their results suggest that VSAQs have a higher degree of validity

Expert dr. Carlos Collares:
On the essay “When I say… computerised adaptive testing”, our assessment specialist Carlos Collares and Dario Cecilio-Fernandes, a researcher from the Dutch progress testing consortium, explain this technology and its advantages and potential pitfalls to be avoided in plain language. The authors describe how the psychometric discourse around computerized adaptive testing gave room to other concerns, such as its alignment with modern learning theories and its potential impacts on examinees. Their main message is that computerised adaptive testing can be not only a good way to do assessment of and for learning, but also has the potential to make strategic use of assessment moments as learning moments as well.

Expert Prof. Cees van der Vleuten:
This paper calls out for collaboration on progress testing across medical schools in the world. The advantages would be numerous: more information to the learner, to the school, to the regulator at a very reduced cost freeing up resources for other local assessment strategies. The paper concludes that we should start tomorrow. EBMA is promoting such progress test collaborations through its computer-adaptive progress test. Come and join us and let’s work on realizing this utopia!

  • Van der Vleuten, C., Freeman, A., & Collares, C. F. (2018). Progress test utopia. Perspectives on Medical Education, 7(2), 136-138.