Would it be accurate to say the almost universal pass mark of 50% is completely arbitrary and almost indefensible?
Scarpa Schoeman
I would say it’s completely arbitrary and totally indefensible.
In this conversation, Scarpa and I talk about his experience of standard setting in medical education.
Scarpa has published a variety of peer-reviewed articles and presented at international conferences on the topic of medical education and assessment. His research interests include assessment and standard setting (the Cohen method in particular), as well as the educational environment for medical students.
His clinical interests and practice focuses on Emergency Medicine. He also acts as Assessment consultant to the Colleges of Physicians, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatricians and Anaesthetists of South Africa. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the United Kingdom and is a part-time tutor in Assessment and Standard setting for the CME at Dundee University.
Additional reading
- Schoeman, S. (2011). Setting standards in health sciences education-a wake-up call. African Journal of Health Professions Education, 3(37), 2.
- Cohen-Schotanus, J., & van der Vleuten, C. P. M. (2010). A standard setting method with the best performing students as point of reference: Practical and affordable. Medical Teacher, 32(2), 154–160.