Assessing the Cognitive Domain through MCQs: Critical to Quality Assurance in Higher Education

While establishing assessment methods as a critical element of quality assurance, one must not lose sight of the intent to measure both expected learning outcomes and intended programme objectives. The achievement of quality assessment is rooted in ensuring that the content and approaches to deliver...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of higher education in Africa 2017-01, Vol.15 (1), p.135-142
Main Authors: Dhamani, Khairunnisa Aziz, Kanji, Zeenatkhanu
Format: Article
Language:eng ; fre
Subjects:
Cephalopelvic disproportion
Educational attainment
Health outcomes
Higher education
Medical education
Medical practice
Multiple choice questions
Nurses
Nursing education
Nursing students
Organizational commitment
Outcomes of education
Patient assessment
Professional development
Quality assessment
Quality assurance
Quality control
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Summary:While establishing assessment methods as a critical element of quality assurance, one must not lose sight of the intent to measure both expected learning outcomes and intended programme objectives. The achievement of quality assessment is rooted in ensuring that the content and approaches to delivery produce graduates and programmes which are high quality. One of the most common strategies to assessing higher order cognitive domain is via Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). In this paper we will reflect on a quality assurance effort to ensure that this strategy was appropriate (doing the right thing), necessary (for the right reasons) and sufficient (achieving the desired results) in meeting the requirements. An exemplar of a continuing professional development approach to the constructing, measuring and evaluation of MCQs is provided, which emphasised the imperative of both faculty (peer) and organisational commitment to the process and achieving the desired product of competent and successful graduates.
ISSN:0851-7762