Assessment of Global Health Education: The Role of Multiple-Choice Questions

Abstract

Introduction: The standardization of global health education and assessment remains a significant issue among global health educators. This paper explores the role of multiple choice questions (MCQs) in global health education: whether MCQs are appropriate in written assessment of what may be perceived to be a broad curriculum packed with fewer facts than biomedical science curricula; what form the MCQs might take; what we want to test; how to select the most appropriate question format; the challenge of quality item-writing; and, which aspects of the curriculum MCQs may be used to assess.Materials and Methods: The Medical School for International Health (MSIH) global health curriculum was blue-printed by content experts and course teachers. A 30-question, 1-h examination was produced after exhaustive item writing and revision by teachers of the course. Reliability, difficulty index and discrimination were calculated and examination results were analyzed using SPSS software.Results: Twenty-nine students sat the 1-h examination. All students passed (scores above 67% - in accordance with University criteria). Twenty-three (77%) questions were found to be easy, 4 (14%) of moderate difficulty, and 3 (9%) difficult (using examinations department difficulty index calculations). Eight questions (27%) were considered discriminatory and 20 (67%) were non-discriminatory according to examinations department calculations and criteria. The reliability score was 0.27.Discussion: Our experience shows that there may be a role for single-best-option (SBO) MCQ assessment in global health education. MCQs may be written that cover the majority of the curriculum. Aspects of the curriculum may be better addressed by non-SBO format MCQs. MCQ assessment might usefully complement other forms of assessment that assess skills, attitude and behavior. Preparation of effective MCQs is an exhaustive process, but high quality MCQs in global health may serve as an important driver of learning.

Correlación entre una evaluación sumativa escrita y el promedio ponderado en estudiantes de medicina humana

“…Se empleó un examen escrito con preguntas de opción múltiple para fines de evaluación sumativa. Entre las limitaciones de esta modalidad esta la falta de aplicación de habilidades clínicas y su enfoque en el recuerdo de información 19,20 . También genera el efecto de señalización, situación en la que los alumnos pueden responder mediante el reconocimiento de la opción correcta, y que en ausencia de opciones no podrían responder 1 .…”

“…El principal determinante para realizar el examen fue haberse matriculado en el mayor número de créditos posibles. Los estudiantes que han completado todas las asignaturas tendrían un mayor nivel de motivación para evaluar su nivel de aprendizaje, así como para identificar las brechas en su conocimiento y esperar una retroalimentación luego de la evaluación 20,21 ; por el contrario, aquellos estudiantes que no se matricularon en la totalidad de créditos o llevaron solo algunos cursos evitaron rendir la evaluación.…”

“…El estudio fue aprobado por el Comité Institucional de Ética en Investigación de la Universidad. 16), U de Mann-Whitney (U) = 94.0, valor de p = 0.001; año 2018: 25 (0) versus 16 (20), U = 345.0, valor de p = 0.001; año 2019: 25 (0) versus 17 (6), U = 554.0, valor de p < 0.001; y año 2020: 25 (0) versus 25 (17), U = 472.0, valor de p = 0.021).…”

Evaluating TESLA-G, a gamified, Telegram-delivered, quizzing platform for surgical education in medical students: a protocol for a pilot randomised controlled trial

“…Multiple-choice question (MCQ) quizzes are a well-known and widely used medium for summative assessment, especially in medical education [1,2]. Their ability to provide objective grading and immediate feedback also make them popular tools for formative assessment [3,4].…”

Feedback of the faculty participants on training workshop on developing multiple choice questions

“…Well-constructed MCQs without flaws can assess the learning of cognition even at higher order of thinking skills such as application and analysis according to Bloom's modified taxonomy and at 'know how' level of the Miller's Pyramid for assessing the competence maintaining optimal level of validity and reliability. [1][2][3][4][5] This tool of assessment, first time was used in 1914 by Kelly. Since then various types or styles of MCQs have been developed such as Classical or Modified single best option (SBO) or single best answer (SBA) type, true/false statements type, extended matching type, situational judgement, script concordance questions but most commonly used type is modified MCQs i.e., SBO or SBA.…”