title: Medical students' perception of the progress test as a quality-controlled assessment tool for improving learning and teaching, at a public sector medical college in Saudi Arabia.
abstract: Progress test's distinguishing characteristics make it pertinent worldwide. We explored medical students' perceptions and opinions about Progress Test (PT) with a view to identifying areas concomitant with it's execution. This cross-sectional study took place at College of Medicine, Saudi Arabia, during the academic year 2015-16. A questionnaire (14 items) was administered. Reason for majority n=96 (89.7%) of the total participants to take the PT was their keenness to compare their academic standing with their peers from other participating medical colleges. The majority of students were highly satisfied with PT implementation; i.e. its orientation (58.9%) and allocated time (90.7%). Students (76.6%) considered PT to offer academic support as future physicians. Students (75.7%) also agreed to participate in the future PT. Students being highly satisfied with the organization of PT. They found it to be a tool helping them to focus on improving the knowledge domain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Kamran
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sattar
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Tauseef
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mahmoud Salah
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Khalil
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mona Mohamed
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Soliman
authors.affiliation: University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Gominda Giatry
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Punnamperuma
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Hamza Mohammad
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Abdulghani
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012577:Schools, Medical; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
keywords:  Medical Students, Student Experience, Progress Test, Lessons Learned, Future Directions, Saudi Arabia.