School of Medicine
Special Topic Educational Skills Workshop
Standard-Setting in Assessment

Faculty:

Christy Kim Boscardin, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Office of Medical Education

Patricia O’Sullivan, EdD
Professor, Department of Medicine
Director, Educational Research and Faculty Development

For every test or assessment there is a point which distinguishes those who performed successfully from those who did not. There are a variety of approaches for setting this standard that relates to the test’s purpose and content, ability of examinees, and the wider context. Some of the methods that we may consider include fixed percentage, Angoff, Modified Angoff and Hofstee. During this session, participants will:

• Review a framework for setting standards for assessments
• Consider some of the various methods used to set standards for performance and
• Apply standard-setting methods to a UCSF performance assessment

At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to:

• Describe the steps for setting standards on assessments
• Distinguish among standard-setting methods
• Use a method to set a standard for an assessment