Abstract
Background and objective: Short answer question (SAQ) format has been introduced as a major component of summative professional examinations of MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) course in Bangladesh over a decade. No systematic evaluation has yet been conducted on implementation of SAQ as directed in curriculum to assess the medical students in the summative examination of MBBS course. The present study assessed the weightage given to the different components of cognitive domain in SAQs in anatomy in first Professional MBBS Examination under the University of Dhaka.
 Materials and method: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, Ibrahim Medical College. Anatomy SAQ papers, Paper I and Paper II, from January 2009 to July 2014 of University of Dhaka were selected. A total of 24 SAQ papers containing 572 questions were included in this study. Every question in a paper was categorized as recall, understanding application types. Then the total number of marks allocated for each of the type of questions were calculated and compared with the total marks (98) allocated for the questions in a paper. Then the resultant weightage of marks were compared with the curricular directive weightage of marks allotted for SAQ.
 Result: On analysis it was found that during the period from 2009 to 2014 76.58% and 23.42% SAQ were recall and understanding types respectively. No question was found to assess the application component of the cognitive domain of the students.
 Conclusion: The study revealed that SAQ introduced as an assessment tool in undergraduate medical curriculum was not properly implemented and its desired objectives were not fully achieved.
 IMC J Med Sci 2018; 12(2): 69-72
Highlights
Assessment is an educational tool to evaluate students and to understand how successfully the learning materials are delivered to the learners
The study revealed that short answer question (SAQ) introduced as an assessment tool in undergraduate medical curriculum was not properly implemented and its desired objectives were not fully achieved
Analysis of the SAQs on anatomy from 2009 to 2014 of first professional MBBS course revealed that the SAQ set in the examination nearly fulfilled the curricular directive allocation of percentage of marks for recall and understanding types of question to assess the cognitive domain of the students
Summary
Assessment is an educational tool to evaluate students and to understand how successfully the learning materials are delivered to the learners. In the undergraduate medical curriculum of 2002 of Bangladesh, extensive modification of the assessment system was done In this new curriculum, the written examination format was modified to SAQ and MCQ along with 10% mark added for formative assessment [5]. To assess different cognitive domains of students in anatomy, while constructing questions for SAQ, the curriculum has recommended, 70% marks for recall, 20% for understanding and 10% for application types of questions [8] This new format of assessment was implemented in 1st Professional MBBS Examinations in January, 2005. Keeping this fact in mind, the present study was conducted to determine the status of implementation of the curricular directive SAQ in assessing the different components of cognitive domains of the students in anatomy of MBBS course.
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