Students’ and Faculty’s Perceptions of Assessment at Qassim College of Medicine Abdullah Alghasham - M. Nour-El-Din – Issam Barrimah Acknowledgment: This research is supported by grant of Deanship of Research, Qassim University

Background In today’s information age, jobs are increasingly demanding higher levels of critical thinking These demands require students to actively engage and monitor their learning rather than passively receive knowledge. There is little evidence to support that students are genuinely involved in decision making about their assessment tasks

Aim There has been a substantial amount of research into types of assessment but very little research into students’ perceptions of assessment The present study aims to clarify students’ and faculty’s perception of assessment in Qassim College of Medicine

Methodology Two types of data (quantitative and qualitative) were collected to answer the question of the study

Quantitative Approach Student Perceptions of Assessment Questionnaire (SPAQ), developed by Fisher et al (2005) was used. Responses ranged from 1-5 (strongly disagree to strongly agree). All college classes were involved

SPAQ Consists of questions related to: Congruence with Planned Learning Authenticity of Assessment Students’ Consultation about Assessment Transparency of Assessment Students’ Capabilities

Qualitative Approach FacultyStudents 3 rd Year4 th Year5 th Year Male7376 Female6254 Total individual’s interview 3 focus group discussions

Qualitative Approach (Cont.) Interviews varied from minutes Faculty from different departments Semi-structured interview focusing on four main themes of assessment Methods of assessment Authenticity of assessment Use of assessment results Transparency of assessment

Results Quantitative part

Overall Response rate was 92%. SPAQ has high reliability 0.89 in the 22 items of the questionnaire. Students have positive perceptions regarding assessment. (3.47) Clinical Phase students have significantly higher perception ratings than Junior students

Congruence with Planned Learning “assessment is used to test what the students memorize” had the highest score (M=4.2) “assessment measures what students understand” had the lowest(M=2.9)”. Students perceive assessment as a measure of memorization rather than understanding.

Authenticity of Assessment Students perceived the authenticity of assessment higher than the other four scales. “Assessments are relevant to what I am expected to do after graduation” had the highest score “ I am asked to apply my learning to real life situations” has the lowest

Consultation about Assessment Students have positive perception towards the assessment methods and checking procedures are clear to them. However, students show low mean responses to “ I have a say on how I will be assessed” (M=2.4).

Transparency of Assessment Students have marked transparency of assessment the lowest among the five scales However, students responded positively to: “I am told in advance when I am being assessed” "I am told in advance on what I am being assessed”

Capabilities of Students Students were positive about having equal chance of completing the assessment task. M=3.5 However, the following have the lowest score “Students are given a choice to answer a question” (M=2) “Students are given explanation to answer the question when confused” M=2.5

Results Qualitative part

Students’ Perception Students identified assessment as activities that the college uses to see o Whether students understood the content of the curriculum. o Whether the curriculum objectives were accomplished.

Students’ Perception (Cont.) Summative assessment was appreciated by all students due to its ability to provide students with a clear idea of their progress. Self and peer-assessment could enhance communication and promote learning Formative assessment needs more emphasis “If exam counts and a grade given to my name, I am going to be more serious when preparing for the exam”.

Faculty Perception Assessment is essential to monitor students’ academic performance. Summative assessment is a stimulus for hard work The majority of the faculty had little emphasis on the formative assessment Peer and self-assessment should be focused on improvement and not on grading. Diagnostic testing such as progress test is important however they were concerned about the practicality.

There is a Consensus that Assessment activities should promote educational process not just assigning grades or scores, Current forms of assessment are traditional and more dependent on end-of-course exams Consultation of students about assessment rarely occurs Alternative forms of assessment is not well practiced nor appreciated.

There is a Consensus that There is a great potential in the college to implement various forms and approaches of assessment Implementation of peer and self-assessment needs support from the college administration. Good assessment is: – Fair – Discriminating – Testing most dimensions of the learning process.

Conclusion Shared understanding exists among faculty and students in relation to the main purpose of assessment, improving instruction and increasing learning. Students were more appreciating that assessment should be used to improve learning and instruction, while faculty were more inclined towards using assessment for grading and testing performance

Take Home Message It is not important whether students’ and faculty responses are different, but rather how the college will address these perceptions. Creating an environment that increase student- student collaboration and student-faculty communication will promote assessment practices and assessment perception

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