Abstract
Background: Student self-scheduling of computer-based examinations during a defined window of opportunity is a protocol used by some medical school courses and licensing bodies. Students scheduling late have more time to prepare, which may provide them with an unfair advantage.
Methods: ANOVA was used to compare the average scores of three different cohorts of test-takers (early, middle and late) on 13 Microscopic Anatomy exams taken over a 3-year period (2003–2005) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Results: On 11 of the 13 exams, the average score of students who took the exam last was lower than that of students who took the exam first. These differences were significant for eight (73%) exams. There were two exams on which the average score of students who took the exam last was higher than that of students who took the exam first, but these differences were not significant.
Conclusions: Scheduling exams late in the window of opportunity does not appear to provide a performance advantage and may even be detrimental since these students are responsible for new content information in the course and in other concurrently running courses while they are preparing for a ‘late’ exam.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
E. Robert Burns
BOB BURNS is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences (NBDS) and the Charles Hartzell Lutterloh and Charles M. Lutterloh Professor of Medical Education Excellence.
Judith E. Garrett
JUDY GARRETT is a Professor in the Office of Educational Development.
Gwen V. Childs
GWEN CHILDS is Professor and Chair of NBDS and course director for Microscopic Anatomy.