title: Formative (in-course) graduate assessment. Design of an accurate multiple-choice question examination and the training merits thereof.
abstract: Medical graduate learning is being appraised to an increasing extent during training. The adequacy of these formative (in-course) assessments has not been widely studied. The performances and opinions of junior specialists were used to evaluate the accuracy of a graduate multiple-choice question examination (MCQE) and the merits of such in-course assessments. Methods used in verifying the validity and reliability of this MCQE are detailed. In-course assessments were rated as being valuable in graduate training. Issues pertinent to sound appraisals of graduate learning are discussed.
mesh_terms: D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires