The New Horizon for Evaluations in Medical Education in Korea

Abstract

Over the last two decades, there have been a number of significant changes in the evaluation system in medical education in Korea. One major improvement in this respect has been the listing of learning objectives at medical schools and the construction of a content outline for the Korean Medical Licensing Examination that can be used as a basis of evaluation. Item analysis has become a routine method for obtaining information that often provides valuable feedback concerning test items after the completion of a written test. The use of item response theory in analyzing test items has been spreading in medical schools as a way to evaluate performance tests and computerized adaptive testing. A series of recent studies have documented an upward trend in the adoption of the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and clinical practice examination (CPX) for measuring skill and attitude domains, in addition to tests of the knowledge domain. There has been an obvious increase in regional consortiums involving neighboring medical schools that share the planning and administration of the OSCE and CPX; this includes recruiting and training standardized patients. Such consortiums share common activities, such as case development and program evaluation. A short history and the pivotal roles of four organizations that have brought about significant changes in the examination system are discussed briefly.