The evaluation of undergraduate students' written English language skills

Chur‐Hansen, Anna; Vernon-Roberts, Jane

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2923.2000.00539.x

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The ethnic minority students scored higher on impersonal attitude, suggesting that they integrate less of the patients’ background and the patients’ perspective into history taking. Another study found that non-native English speakers in Australia scored significantly lower than native English speaking students on appropriate content and appropriate use of the English language for a writing skills assessment (Chur-Hansen and Vernon-Roberts 2000). Nevertheless, further research is required into explanations for the underperformance of ethnic minority students in the clinical and writing skills examinations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnic and social disparities in different types of examinations in undergraduate pre-clinical training

Stegers‐Jager

Brommet

Themmen

2016

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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Medical schools are increasingly faced with a more diverse student population. Generally, ethnic minority students are reported to underperform compared with those from the ethnic majority. However, there are inconsistencies in findings in different types of examinations. Additionally, little is known about the performance of first-generation university students and about performance differences across ethnic minority groups. This study aimed to investigate underperformance across ethnic minority groups and by first-generation university students in different types of written tests and clinical skills examinations during pre-clinical training. A longitudinal prospective cohort study of progress on a 3-year Dutch Bachelor of Medicine course was conducted. Participants included 2432 students who entered the course over a consecutive 6-year period (2008–2013). Compared with Dutch students, the three non-Western ethnic minority groups (Turkish/Moroccan/African, Surinamese/Antillean and Asian) underperformed in the clinical problem solving tests, the language test and the OSCEs. Findings on the theoretical end-of-block tests and writing skills tests, and results for Western minority students were less consistent. Age, gender, pre-university grade point average and additional socio-demographic variables (including first-generation university student, first language, and medical doctor parent) could explain the ethnicity-related differences in theoretical examinations, but not in language, clinical and writing skills examinations. First-generation university students only underperformed in the language test. Apparently, underperformance differs both across ethnic subgroups and between different types of written and clinical examinations. Medical schools should ensure their assessment strategies create a level playing field for all students and explore reasons for underperformance in the clinical and writing skills examinations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethnic and social disparities in different types of examinations in undergraduate pre-clinical training

Stegers‐Jager

Brommet

Themmen

2016

Adv in Health Sci Educ

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“…A qualitative analysis of nursing school admission essays demonstrated that essays could differentiate between students who would complete their studies from those who would not, and that the essay question was a better predictor than measures of prior academic performance [10]. It has also been suggested that writing skills should be included in admissions processes because they are an essential part of healthcare education and practice [11,12]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

"What Do They Want Me To Say?" The hidden curriculum at work in the medical school selection process: a qualitative study

et al. 2012

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BackgroundThere has been little study of the role of the essay question in selection for medical school. The purpose of this study was to obtain a better understanding of how applicants approached the essay questions used in selection at our medical school in 2007.MethodsThe authors conducted a qualitative analysis of 210 essays written as part of the medical school admissions process, and developed a conceptual framework to describe the relationships, ideas and concepts observed in the data.ResultsFindings of this analysis were confirmed in interviews with applicants and assessors. Analysis revealed a tension between "genuine" and "expected" responses that we believe applicants experience when choosing how to answer questions in the admissions process. A theory named "What do they want me to say?" was developed to describe the ways in which applicants modulate their responses to conform to their expectations of the selection process; the elements of this theory were confirmed in interviews with applicants and assessors.ConclusionsThis work suggests the existence of a "hidden curriculum of admissions" and demonstrates that the process of selection has a strong influence on applicant response. This paper suggests ways that selection might be modified to address this effect. Studies such as this can help us to appreciate the unintended consequences of admissions processes and can identify ways to make the selection process more consistent, transparent and fair.

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“…These skills are rarely taught in a formal capacity during medical school, but are well assessed by an evaluation of a written practical assignment. 1 Research has shown that when writing skills are taught within medical schools, students demonstrate improved knowledge and overall performance. 2 The purpose of this study was to evaluate Family Medicine (FM) Clerkship students’ writing skills using an anchored scoring rubric.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing, evaluating and validating a scoring rubric for written case reports

et al. 2014

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ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to evaluate Family Medicine Clerkship students’ writing skills using an anchored scoring rubric. In this study, we report on the assessment of a current scoring rubric (SR) used to grade written case description papers (CDP) for medical students, describe the development of a revised SR with examination of scoring consistency among faculty raters, and report on feedback from students regarding SR revisions and written CDP.MethodsFive faculty members scored a total of eighty-three written CDP using both the Original SR (OSR) and the Revised SR1 (RSR1) during the 2009-2010 academic years.ResultsOverall increased faculty inter-rater reliability was obtained using the RSR1. Additionally, this subset analysis revealed that the five faculty using the Revised SR2 (RSR2) had a high measure of inter-rater reliability on their scoring of this subset of papers (as measured by intra-class correlation (ICC) with ICC = 0.93, p < 0.001.ConclusionsFindings from this research have implications for medical education, by highlighting the importance of the assessment and development of reliable evaluation tools for medical student writing projects.

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The evaluation of undergraduate students' written English language skills

Abstract: This study was useful in providing a means to objectively rate students' written English language skills and to target students in need of formative feedback and tuition. However, further research is necessary for both evaluation of medical writing and interventions for its improvement.

Cited by 9 publications

References 7 publications

Ethnic and social disparities in different types of examinations in undergraduate pre-clinical training

Ethnic and social disparities in different types of examinations in undergraduate pre-clinical training

"What Do They Want Me To Say?" The hidden curriculum at work in the medical school selection process: a qualitative study

Developing, evaluating and validating a scoring rubric for written case reports

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