A Subgroup Analysis of the Impact of Self-testing Frequency on Examination Scores in a Pathophysiology Course

• Published in: American journal of pharmaceutical education Vol. 78; no. 9; p. 165
• Main Authors: Panus, Peter C., Stewart, David W., Hagemeier, Nicholas E., Thigpen, Jim C., Brooks, Lauren
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 15-11-2014; Elsevier Limited; American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
• Subjects: active learning; Core curriculum; Curriculum; Drug stores; Education, Pharmacy - methods; Educational Measurement; Educational Status; formative assessment; Formative Feedback; Health education; Humans; Learning; Learning Strategies; Lifelong Learning; Outcomes of Education; Pharmaceutical Education; Pharmacy; pharmacy education; Physiology - education; Problem-Based Learning; Program Evaluation; Retention; self-testing; Software; Students, Pharmacy - psychology; Teaching - methods; Test Taking Skills; Variance analysis; formative assessment; active learning; pharmacy education; self-testing
• ISSN: 0002-9459; 1553-6467
• DOI: 10.5688/ajpe789165

Objective: To determine if the frequency of self-testing of course material prior to actual examination improves examination scores, regardless of the actual scores on the self-testing.
Methods: Practice quizzes were randomly generated from a total of 1342 multiple-choice questions in pathophysiology and made available online for student self-testing. Intercorrelations, 2-way repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc tests, and 2-group comparisons following rank ordering, were conducted.
Results: During each of 4 testing blocks, more than 85% of students took advantage of the self-testing process for a total of 7042 attempts. A consistent significant correlation (p≤0.05) existed between the number of practice quiz attempts and the subsequent examination scores. No difference in the number of quiz attempts was demonstrated compared to the first testing block. Exam scores for the first and second testing blocks were both higher than those for third and fourth blocks.
Conclusion: Although self-testing strategies increase retrieval and retention, they are uncommon in pharmacy education. The results suggested that the number of self-testing attempts alone improved subsequent examination scores, regardless of the score for self-tests.