The delivery of examinations for students online is now possible 24/7 worldwide. Not only formative examinations for practice with self-assessment but also summative high-stakes examinations for a grade can be provided online. This presentation will address multiple aspects of online exam development and usage. What educational resources can be made available for student self-assessment in a non-secure mode, and do they improve student outcomes? What are the institutional issues regarding development, deployment, and usage of online practice exams? For high-stakes examinations taken in a secure mode, what methods of delivery are available? How are the examination item banks developed? What kinds of questions can be placed onto these exams? What are the challenges for timely and reliable delivery of secure online exams? What are the hardware requirements? How are scores, statistical analyses, and results produced?
What are the institutional personnel requirements? Problems encountered in delivery of these exams will be presented. Institutional and student advantages for adoption of online exams will be discussed.
Edward C. Klatt MD is Professor of Pathology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah, Georgia, USA. He is the Director of the Biomedical Problems Program and oversees the basic science portion of the preclinical medical curriculum. Dr. Klatt graduated from Loma Linda University medical school and then completed residency and fellowship training in pathology at the University of Southern California, where he received a faculty appointment and served as medical examiner and autopsy director. He moved to the University of Utah in 1991, becoming Professor of Pathology and Pathology Course Director as well as director of the autopsy service. In 2001, as a founding Professor, he participated in design and development of the curriculum for the Florida State University School of Medicine. He moved to the new Savannah campus of Mercer University School of Medicine in 2008. Since 1993, Dr. Klatt has developed computer-aided instructional materials as well as a World Wide Web site and CD-ROM application known as WebPath. Dr. Klatt is an author on 4 of 7 published works in the Robbins & Cotran family of pathology textbooks.