McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Med Teach. 2010;32(6):496-9. doi: 10.3109/0142159X.2010.486063.
Although it is generally accepted that assessment steers learning, this is generally viewed as an undesirable side effect. Recent evidence suggests otherwise. Experimental studies have shown that periodic formative assessments can enhance learning over equivalent time spent in study (Roediger & Karpicke 2006). However, positive effects of assessment at a curriculum level have not been demonstrated. Progress tests are a periodic formative assessment designed to enhance learning by providing objective and cumulative feedback, and by identifying a subgroup of students who require additional remediation. McMaster adopted the progress test methods in 1992-1993, as a consequence of poor performance on a national licensing examination. This article shows the positive effect of this innovation, which amounts to an immediate increase of about one-half standard deviation in examination scores, and a consistent upward trend in performance. The immediate effect of introducing objective tests was a reduction in failure rate on the licensing examination from 19% to 4.5%. Various reasons for this improvement in performance are discussed.
虽然人们普遍认为评估会引导学习，但这通常被视为一种不理想的副作用。最近的证据表明并非如此。实验研究表明，周期性的形成性评估可以在相当于学习时间的基础上增强学习效果（Roediger 和 Karpicke 2006）。然而，在课程层面上评估的积极效果尚未得到证明。进展测试是一种周期性的形成性评估，旨在通过提供客观和累积的反馈，以及确定需要额外补救的学生亚组来增强学习。麦克马斯特大学在 1992-1993 年采用了进展测试方法，原因是在国家执照考试中的表现不佳。本文展示了这一创新的积极影响，即考试成绩立即提高了大约半个标准差，并且表现呈持续上升趋势。引入客观测试的直接效果是执照考试的失败率从 19%降低到 4.5%。讨论了这种绩效提高的各种原因。
