Effectiveness of Formative Assessment in Motivating and Improving the Outcome of Summative Assessment in Pharmacology for Medical Undergraduates

Abstract

Introduction: Assessment is a basic component of teaching and learning. Formative assessment (FA) with timely comprehensive feedback can prepare the students to be good learners. Aim: To understand the role of FA in changing the outcome of summative assessment in Pharmacology. Materials and Methods: This was an interventional study done in Government Medical College for a period of one year. A supplementary batch (n=27) which wrote Pharmacology university exams in September 2016 formed the sample. Monthly tests were conducted among the participants and feedback on their perceptions on FA was collected using a structured questionnaire at the end of course. Short answer questions on topics covered during the study period were conducted at a frequency of one month. The Summative Assessment (SA) marks of participants were compared with that of all students of the affiliated university as well as with that of the previous year’s supplementary batch of the Institution. The data were analysed using SPSS 16. Unpaired t-tests and correlation was done to assess the effectiveness of FA. Results: The mean scores of the intervention batch (54.04±4.86) was better than that of the non-intervention batch (49.18±7.81) as well as whole university score (50.68±8.50) and it was statistically significant. A positive correlation was seen between the marks gained in formative and SA. Majority opined that FA guided them for subsequent performances by strengthening knowledge in the subject. Conclusion: FA can improve the outcome of SA. It may be positively correlated to the performance in SA. Well-designed FA should be used in medical education to assist students in learning.

Keywords

• evaluation
• feedback
• learning
• medical education