assessing student learning & program performance

Session Number: S403Assessing Student Learning & Program PerformanceKim Cavanagh, DHSc, MPAS, PA-C, Duke Olivia Ziegler MS, PA, PAEA

Today’s goals• Review PAEAs current assessment tools & how to use them for

student and program assessment

• Discuss how to remediate & assess struggling students

• Describe an analytical approach to remediation for a failed end of rotation examination

• Recommend a standardized process & efficiencies for remediation at PA programs

• Discuss options for reassessing student knowledge after remediation as occurred

PACKRAT• 225-question exam

• Emphasis on student self-assessment & engagement in the learning process

• Used by 90% of programs

• Delivered >12,000 times a year

• 20th anniversary

End of Rotation exams• 7 exam topics

• 2 equated forms

• 120 questions

• Version 3 in publication

• Used by over 100 programs

• Delivered >20,000 times a year

Exam resources• Websites:

• www.PACKRATexam.org

• www.endofrotation.org

• Blueprints & Topic lists

• Core Tasks & Objectives

• Sample exam

• Score report guidelines & Statistics

• Tutorials & Technical support

Sample exam

Student performance reports

Program performance reports

ExamDriver enhancements• Add raw score to composite report

• Pricing change

• Add explanatory verbiage

• Exam webpage and tutorials

• Web chat

• Proctor survey

• Update proctor schedule

• Eliminate the 1-hour wait for newly scheduled exams

• Allow back to back delivery

• Allow proctors to review proctor history after exams are complete

• Add fail-safe features to non-proctored PACKRAT exams

• Add student honor code

Feedback driven

The struggling learnerand a failed exam

What is remediation?‘heal again’

Why is remediation important?

Practitioners who exhibit poor judgement, knowledge and/or skills may pose a risk to the public

Deficiencies don’t resolve without intervention

Our shared goal is to help students overcome their deficiencies and not simply eject them from the program

Barriers to remediation

Faculty are not confident in how to remediate

It can take considerable resources

Methods are not standard

Little evidence to guide best practices

The standards of accreditation

The program defined and applied process for addressing deficiencies in a student’s knowledge and skills, such that the correction of these deficiencies is measurable and can be documented. (ARC-PA)

A formal approach

1- Identify area(s) of concern

2- Construct individualized remediation program

3- Implement program and monitor

4- Reassess

How to remediate multiple choice examinations

• Organizing large amounts of information

• Integrating large amounts of information

• Time management

• Test taking anxiety

• Stress or anxiety not associated with testing

Most common causes of failure:

Potential tools

• Review expectations

• Check-ins

• Independent assignments

• Work on test taking strategies

• Direct observation

• Review charts and patient logs

• OSCEs

• Special elective

• Repeat rotation

Case study

How does your program remediate failed MCEs after supervised clinical

practice experiences?

Summary• This is hard

• Develop a standard “defined” process, to include

• How to approach and help the student

• How to review & evaluate the course

• How to measure the outcomes

• Be as specific as possible

• Normalize & de-stigmatize

Remediate then

Reassess

Remediation Pando™ Workshop

March 2016

Questions?