Investigating assessment standards and fixed passing marks in dental undergraduate finals: a mixed-methods approach

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Bibliografiske detaljer
Udgivet i:BMC Medical Education vol. 25 (2025), p. 1
Hovedforfatter: Ting Khee Ho
Andre forfattere: Lucy O’Malley, Reza Vahid Roudsari
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Springer Nature B.V.
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LEADER 00000nab a2200000uu 4500
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022 |a 1472-6920 
024 7 |a 10.1186/s12909-025-06944-y  |2 doi 
035 |a 3187549272 
045 2 |b d20250101  |b d20251231 
084 |a 58506  |2 nlm 
100 1 |a Ting Khee Ho 
245 1 |a Investigating assessment standards and fixed passing marks in dental undergraduate finals: a mixed-methods approach 
260 |b Springer Nature B.V.  |c 2025 
513 |a Journal Article 
520 3 |a BackgroundStandard setting is widely practised in healthcare education programmes and specialty examinations in many countries. However, Malaysian dental institutions still arbitrarily set a fixed 50% pass-fail assessment threshold. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore faculty members’ experiences and practices in student assessment, their perceptions of the assessment standards employed by the faculty, and their views on the fixed passing standard of 50% in the dental undergraduate final professional examination.MethodsA mixed-methods study was conducted at a single dental school in Malaysia. An online questionnaire was administered to eligible lecturers, followed by in-depth interviews with volunteer respondents. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using the statistical software Jamovi; qualitative data was analysed with inductive thematic analysis process in Microsoft Excel.ResultsA total of 26 lecturers responded to the questionnaire (55% response rate), and 12 of these respondents also completed interviews. All respondents had experience in writing and developing assessments for students and reported that post-hoc assessment analysis and standard setting were not routinely carried out. The questionnaire analysis revealed that 13 respondents (50%) felt that the passing marks for the final exam were fair, 9(34.6%) were neutral, and 4(15.4%) strongly disagreed/disagreed. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) Trust in the institutional quality assurance processes (2) Reflections on the passing mark as passing standard (3) Potential barriers to standard setting (4) Future faculty development strategies.ConclusionArbitrary passing marks are common practise in dental education in this region. Our research revealed mixed confidence among participants in using an arbitrary fixed passing marks to make pass-fail decisions for dental high-stakes examinations. Low level of exposure and knowledge about educational measurement has restricted the application of post-hoc assessment analysis and standard-setting practices at the institute. Most participants were positive about exploring and learning methods to improve assessment practices and ensure fair passing standards. Any implementation of standard setting in similar contexts will need careful thought around training, support and infrastructure. 
651 4 |a United Kingdom--UK 
651 4 |a Malaysia 
653 |a Teaching 
653 |a Students 
653 |a Curricula 
653 |a Questionnaires 
653 |a Interviews 
653 |a Certification 
653 |a Quality standards 
653 |a Perceptions 
653 |a Councils 
653 |a Methods 
653 |a Dental schools 
653 |a Education 
653 |a Medical education 
653 |a Teaching Experience 
653 |a Minimum Competency Testing 
653 |a Cutting Scores 
653 |a Standard Setting 
653 |a Undergraduate Students 
653 |a Competence 
653 |a Graduates 
653 |a Curriculum Development 
653 |a Stakeholders 
653 |a Graduate Students 
653 |a Standard Setting (Scoring) 
653 |a College Faculty 
653 |a Grading 
653 |a Mixed Methods Research 
653 |a Test Items 
653 |a Student Evaluation 
653 |a School Policy 
653 |a Educational Assessment 
653 |a Dental Evaluation 
653 |a Summative Evaluation 
653 |a Academic Standards 
653 |a Pass Fail Grading 
700 1 |a Lucy O’Malley 
700 1 |a Reza Vahid Roudsari 
773 0 |t BMC Medical Education  |g vol. 25 (2025), p. 1 
786 0 |d ProQuest  |t Healthcare Administration Database 
856 4 1 |3 Citation/Abstract  |u https://www.proquest.com/docview/3187549272/abstract/embedded/H09TXR3UUZB2ISDL?source=fedsrch 
856 4 0 |3 Full Text  |u https://www.proquest.com/docview/3187549272/fulltext/embedded/H09TXR3UUZB2ISDL?source=fedsrch 
856 4 0 |3 Full Text - PDF  |u https://www.proquest.com/docview/3187549272/fulltextPDF/embedded/H09TXR3UUZB2ISDL?source=fedsrch