Progress Test in Medical School: a Systematic Review of the Literature

Abstract

Progress Test is an objective assessment, consisting of 60 to 150 multiple-choice questions, designed to promote an assessment of the cognitive skills expected at the end of undergraduate school. This test is applied to all students on the same day, so that it is possible to compare the results between grades and analyze the development of knowledge performance throughout the course. This study aimed to carry out a systematic and literary review about Progress Test in medical schools in Brazil and around the world, understanding the benefits of its implementation for the development of learning for the student, the teacher and the institution. The study was carried out from July 2018 to April 2019, which addressed articles published from January 2002 to March 2019. The keywords used were: “Progress Test in Medical Schools” and “Item Response Theory in Medicine” in the PubMed, Scielo, and Lilacs platforms. There was no language limitation in article selection, but the research was carried out in English. A total of 192,026 articles were identified, and after applying advanced search filters, 11 articles were included in the study. The Progress Test (PTMed) has been applied in medical schools, either alone or in groups of partner schools, since the late 1990s. The test results build the students’ performance curves, which allow us to identify weaknesses and strengths of the students in the several areas of knowledge related to the course. The Progress Test is not an exclusive instrument for assessing student performance, but it is also important as an assessment tool for academic management use and thus, it is crucial that institutions take an active role in the preparation and analysis of this assessment data. Assessments designed to test clinical competence in medical students need to be valid and reliable. For the evaluative method to be valid it is necessary that the subject be extensively reviewed and studied, aiming at improvements and adjustments in test performance.

Factor analysis of the performance at the medical residency exam, progress test and clerkship rotations performance coefficient

“…Therefore, it can be said that the progress test would be important to understand the performance evaluation process of medical students at each year, to analyze the development of students within a particular cohort, so it could be used as a tool for early diagnosis and interventions, as well as for comparisons between medical schools 1,14,24,26 .…”

“…Progress tests are comprehensive longitudinal assessments used to measure students' knowledge throughout a curriculum that allow, when properly designed and applied, observation of the individual growth pattern over repeated tests and comparisons of cohorts [1][2][3][4][5][6] .…”

“…In Brazil, at Escola Paulista de Medicina -Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SP, the progress test was introduced in 1996 7,8 . This assessment has been carried out annually for students from the 1 st to the 6 th year of medical school at several institutions, either alone or in partnership 1,9 . Additionally, numerous studies have been carried out aiming to verify the students' performance on the progress test 7,10,11 .…”

Teste de Progresso para estudantes de Medicina: experiência de um consórcio na Região Nordeste do Brasil

“…A longitudinalidade dessa modalidade de avaliação formativa fornece uma medida única e demonstrável da progressão cognitiva dos estudantes 11 . Após cada avaliação, é possível reafirmar e consolidar conhecimentos e identificar lacunas de aprendizagem e pontos a serem melhorados 19 O TP possibilita que os cursos revejam suas matrizes curriculares e mesmo seus projetos pedagógicos por meio da análise dos conteúdos (gerais e por área) 20 . Fornece subsídios à instituição de ensino para a avaliação do modelo curricular utilizado 21 , por meio da identificação de como os conhecimentos dos alunos progridem durante a formação médica 6 .…”

Desempenho cognitivo dos estudantes de Medicina no Teste de Progresso

“…É constituído de um número variável de questões, contemplando de forma ampla todas as grandes áreas da medicina: ciências básicas, saúde coletiva, clínica médica, pediatria, ginecologia/obstetrícia, cirurgia, urgência/emergência, ética médica e humanidades. Sugerese que as questões sejam de múltipla escolha e priorizem alta taxonomia, já que o processo de aprendizado envolve competências complexas 2,12 . A prova é aplicada a todos os estudantes em um mesmo momento, pelo menos uma vez ao ano, e permite comparar os resultados e analisar a evolução do desempenho do discente ao longo da graduação.…”