Ho Ting Khee, O'Malley Lucy, Roudsari Reza Vahid
Division of Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK.
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, Kuala Lumpur, 50300, Malaysia.
BMC Med Educ. 2025 Apr 3;25(1):481. doi: 10.1186/s12909-025-06944-y.
Standard setting is widely practised in healthcare education programmes and specialty examinations in many countries. However, Malaysian dental institutions still arbitrarily set a fixed 50% pass-fail assessment threshold. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore faculty members' experiences and practices in student assessment, their perceptions of the assessment standards employed by the faculty, and their views on the fixed passing standard of 50% in the dental undergraduate final professional examination.
A mixed-methods study was conducted at a single dental school in Malaysia. An online questionnaire was administered to eligible lecturers, followed by in-depth interviews with volunteer respondents. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using the statistical software Jamovi; qualitative data was analysed with inductive thematic analysis process in Microsoft Excel.
A total of 26 lecturers responded to the questionnaire (55% response rate), and 12 of these respondents also completed interviews. All respondents had experience in writing and developing assessments for students and reported that post-hoc assessment analysis and standard setting were not routinely carried out. The questionnaire analysis revealed that 13 respondents (50%) felt that the passing marks for the final exam were fair, 9(34.6%) were neutral, and 4(15.4%) strongly disagreed/disagreed. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) Trust in the institutional quality assurance processes (2) Reflections on the passing mark as passing standard (3) Potential barriers to standard setting (4) Future faculty development strategies.
Arbitrary passing marks are common practise in dental education in this region. Our research revealed mixed confidence among participants in using an arbitrary fixed passing marks to make pass-fail decisions for dental high-stakes examinations. Low level of exposure and knowledge about educational measurement has restricted the application of post-hoc assessment analysis and standard-setting practices at the institute. Most participants were positive about exploring and learning methods to improve assessment practices and ensure fair passing standards. Any implementation of standard setting in similar contexts will need careful thought around training, support and infrastructure.
在许多国家的医疗保健教育项目和专业考试中，标准设定被广泛应用。然而，马来西亚的牙科机构仍随意设定固定的50%及格-不及格评估阈值。这项混合方法研究的目的是探讨教师在学生评估中的经验和做法、他们对教师采用的评估标准的看法，以及他们对牙科本科最终专业考试中50%的固定及格标准的看法。
在马来西亚的一所牙科学校进行了一项混合方法研究。向符合条件的讲师发放了一份在线问卷，随后对志愿者受访者进行了深入访谈。定量数据使用统计软件Jamovi进行描述性分析；定性数据在Microsoft Excel中通过归纳主题分析过程进行分析。
共有26名讲师回复了问卷（回复率为55%），其中12名受访者还完成了访谈。所有受访者都有编写和制定学生评估的经验，并报告说事后评估分析和标准设定并非常规进行。问卷分析显示，13名受访者（50%）认为期末考试的及格分数是公平的，9名（34.6%）持中立态度，4名（15.4%）强烈不同意/不同意。定性数据中出现了四个主题：（1）对机构质量保证流程的信任（2）对及格分数作为及格标准的反思（3）标准设定的潜在障碍（4）未来教师发展策略。
在该地区的牙科教育中，随意设定及格分数是常见做法。我们的研究表明，参与者对于使用随意设定的固定及格分数来为牙科高风险考试做出及格-不及格决定的信心不一。对教育测量的低水平接触和了解限制了该机构事后评估分析和标准设定做法的应用。大多数参与者对探索和学习改进评估做法并确保公平及格标准的方法持积极态度。在类似背景下实施标准设定时，任何举措都需要在培训、支持和基础设施方面进行深思熟虑。
