J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2007;4:3.

Is the Pass/Fail System Applicable to a Medical School in Korea?

• Kim MY

Abstract

To determine whether a pass/fail system is more appropriate for medical education instead of a grade-based system, a survey of medical students and faculty members of Hallym University, Korea, was taken. A questionnaire was delivered to 54 junior students and 36 faculty members from a medical school in Korea and analyzed. Of these participants, 37.7% of students and 36.1% of faculty agreed to the pass/fail system, while 28.3% of students and 52.8% of faculty objected to it. The most frequent reason for objection was the potential decrease in learning achievement. A pass/fail system should be considered after persuasion of the students and faculty to think positively of this system.

Keyword

Medical Education; Education Evaluation, Pass/Fail System

MeSH Terms

Education, Medical
Humans
Korea*
Learning
Persuasive Communication
Schools, Medical*
Students, Medical
Surveys and Questionnaires

Reference

REFRERENCES

1. Robins LS, Fantone JC, Oh MS, Alexander GL, Shlafer M, Davis WK. The effect of pass/fail grading and weekly quizzes on first-year students’ performances and satisfaction. Acad Med. 1995; 70:327–9.

2. Vosti KL, Jacobs CD. Outcome measurement in postgraduate year one of graduates from a medical school with a pass/fail grading system. Acad Med. 1999; 74:547–9.

3. Rohe DE, Barrier PA, Clark MM, Cook DA, Vickers KS, Decker PA. The benefits of pass-fail grading on stress, mood, and group cohesion in medical students. Mayo Clin Proc. 2006; 81:1443–8.

4. Gonnella JS, Erdmann JB, Hojat M. An empirical study of the predictive validity of number grades in medical school using 3 decades of longitudinal data: implications for a grading system. Med Educ. 2004; 38:425–34.

5. Dietrick JA, Weaver MT, Merrick HW. Pass/fail grading: a disadvantage for students applying for residency. Am J Surg. 1991; 162:63–6.

6. Provan JL, Cuttress L. Preferences of program directors for evaluation of candidates for postgraduate training. CMAJ. 1995; 153:919–23.

7. Weaver CS, Humbert AJ, Besinger BR, Graber JA, Brizendine EJ. A more explicit grading scale decreases grade inflation in a clinical clerkship. Acad Emerg Med. 2007; 14:283–6.

8. Ravelli C, Wolfson P. What is the “ideal” grading system for the junior surgery clerkship? Am J Surg. 1999; 177:140–4.

9. Reznick RK, Colliver JA, Williams RG, Folse JR. Reliability of different grading systems used in evaluating surgical students. Am J Surg. 1989; 157:346–9.

10. Andre K. Grading student clinical practice performance: the Australian perspective. Nurse Educ Today. 2000; 20:672–9.