title: Assessment in postgraduate dental education: an evaluation of strengths and weaknesses.
abstract: This paper describes a study designed to evaluate assessment in postgraduate dental education in England, identifying strengths and weaknesses and focusing specifically on its relevance, consistency and cost-effectiveness.
  
  
  METHODS
  A four-phase qualitative method was used: a mapping of current career paths, assessment policy, and issues (phase 1); more detailed studies of the practice of assessment for a range of courses, and the systemic/management perspective of assessment (i.e. quality assurance) (phases 2 and 3), and analysis and reporting (phase 4). Data were analysed from documents, interviews, group consultations and observations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Five key issues may be distilled from the findings: (i) lack of formal assessment of general professional training; (ii) trainer variation in assessment; (iii) the extent to which assessments are appropriate indicators of later success; (iv) the relationship between assessment and patient care, and (v) data to assess the costs of assessment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current assessment procedures might be improved if consideration is given to: assessment which supports an integrated period of general professional training; training for trainers and inspection procedures to address variation; more authentic assessments, based directly on clinical work and grading cases and posts, and better data on allocation of resources, in particular clinicians' time given to assessment.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Z S
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: A D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Bullock
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Belfield
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Butterfield
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Frame
mesh_terms: D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards; D004499:Education, Dental, Graduate / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011361:Professional Competence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D006113:United Kingdom; D014829:Vocational Education / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards