Developing Assessor Judgments in Standards-Based Approaches in Dental Education

Abstract

Outcomes-based models in higher education recognize the centrality of standards-based assessment in fulfilling the goal of curriculum coherence through ‘ constructive alignment’. The writing of clear yet nuanced descriptors or standards specifications proves to be a continuing challenge in higher education, especially in performance-based tasks. This workshop aims to take this mission forward by examining one assessment type: performance-based tasks in undergraduate dentistry. In this workshop, we will share various models and approaches to identifying and writing standards descriptors/ assessment rubrics for dental education. We will also problematize the use of scalar attributes such as ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘unsatisfactory’ in denoting criteria and explore methods to best capture salient features considered by assessors to be central to task performance across levels.