External examinations for internal evaluation: the National Board Part I Test as a case.
The appropriateness of the Part I examination of the National Board of Medical Examiners to evaluate second-year curricular performance of students at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine was examined. Review of the June 1974 examination by 37 faculty members revealed that 85% of the items reflected the content of the second-year curriculum and that 60% could be answered from information provided in the second-year teaching. Two-thirds of the items were related to the content of the first-year curriculum, and half could be answered on the basis of first-year material. The school's faculty used the study data in making policy-changing decisions.
D003479:Curriculum; D003657:Decision Making; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D009820:Ohio