the-aps.org>meetings>eb

Is Formative Assessment an Effective Way to Improve Learning?
Sponsored by APS Teaching of Physiology Section
Education Track

Formative assessment aims to inform learners about their progress towards achieving the goals and objectives of a program. It is intended to foster learning, helping students to develop under conditions that are non-threatening.  It can give teachers information that allows them to identify and better assist students with academic deficiencies. In this symposium we will showcase different approaches to formative assessment, with emphasis on the key properties of a successful formative assessment system and on research that evaluates whether or not formative assessment helps students perform better. The concept of formative assessment is firmly established in higher education, and the US Licensing Committee on Medical Education (LCME) has a standard that states: “The directors of all courses and clerkships must design and implement a system of formative and summative assessment evaluation of student achievement in each course and clerkship.”