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Assessment Committee

Version 1, August 2024 

Preamble 

The Assessment Committee for the York University School of Medicine undergraduate medical education program is being established to propose an assessment system, robust assessment policies and procedures, and assessment tools to be utilized across the three year curriculum of the undergraduate medical education program. This committee will provide its’ recommendations to the Transitional Curriculum Committee (TCC) and once the TCC evolves to the Undergraduate Medical Education Program Committee (UMEPC) the assessment committee will report to the UMEPC. 

Vision of the School 

York University’s School of Medicine will prepare the next generation of talented frontline primary care doctors — who represent the diversity of the communities in which they live — to not only thrive in a new, interprofessional, team-based health care environment but to continue to adapt to evolving patient, community and health system needs.  

Purpose 

The Assessment Committee for the School is established to develop and propose an integrated assessment program across all three years of the Undergraduate Medical Education Program (UGMEP). The Assessment works in accordance with the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS) standards and elements including: 

  • Standard 9: Teaching, Supervision, Assessment, and Student and Patient Safety 
  • Element 9.4 Assessment System 
  • A medical school ensures that, throughout its medical education program, there is a centralized system in place that employs a variety of measures (including direct observation) for the assessment of student achievement, including students’ acquisition of the knowledge, core clinical skills (e.g. medical history-taking, physical examination), behaviors, and attitudes specified in medical education program objectives, and ensures that all graduates achieve the same medical education program objectives. The assessment systems should also be designed to facilitate period evaluation of how well the system is working to be able to make design corrections.  
  • Element 9.5 Narrative Assessment 
  • A medical school ensures that a narrative description of a medical student’s performance, including the student’s non-cognitive achievement, is included as a component of the assessment in each required learning experience in the medical education program whenever teacher-student interaction permits this form of assessment. 
  • Element 9.7 Timely Formative Assessment and Feedback 
  • A medical school ensures that the medical education program provides timely formative assessment consisting of appropriate measures by which medical students can measure their progress in learning. Each medical student is assessed and provided with formal formative feedback early enough during each required learning experience four or more weeks in length to allow sufficient time for remediation. Formal feedback occurs at least at the midpoint of the learning experience. In medical education programs with longer educational experiences (e.g., longitudinal integrated clerkship, year-long courses) formal feedback occurs approximately every six weeks. For required learning experiences less than four weeks in length alternate means are provided by which medical students can measure their progress in learning. 
  • Element 9.8 Fair and Timely Summative Assessment 
  • A medical school has in place a system of fair and timely summative assessment of medical student achievement in each required learning experience of the medical education program. Final grades are available within six weeks after the end of a required learning experience.  

Term 

The Terms of Reference is effective from October 1, 2024 and will continue until October 1, 2025 or sooner when the Terms of Reference will be reviewed and revised, as appropriate. 

Membership 

Full members: 

  • Advisor, Assessment (Co-Chair) 
  • Learning Assessment & Evaluation Developer (Co-Chair) 
  • Three (3) community physicians:  
  • One (1) Community Based Primary Care physician (i.e. Family Physician)  
  • One (1) Community Based Generalist Physician  
  • One (1) community-based physician 
  • Three (3) faculty members from York University who have experience in health professions assessment 
  • Two (2) medical students from the Canadian Federation of Medical Students 

Ex-officio members: 

  • Faculty Lead, Curriculum & Accreditation 
  • Undergraduate Medical Education (UGME) Operations Director 
  • Accreditation Committees Project Manager 
  • Advisor, Curriculum and Accreditation 
  • Advisor, UGME Curriculum and Operations 

Operations 

  • The Assessment Committee will meet every two weeks or at the call of the Co-Chairs 
  • The meetings will be 90 minutes in duration  
  • Quorum will be 50% plus one of the committee members 
  • Members serve for one year or sooner if there is a need to revise the Terms of Reference as the undergraduate medical education program development evolves 
  • Meeting minutes reflecting the activity of the committee shall be recorded 
  • Committee members are expected to attend meetings or, if unable to do so, send advance notice of their absence. 
  • When one Co-Chair is not present, the other Co-Chair will chair the committee. 
  • Key parties of interest, such as advisors internal or external to York University, will be invited to attend on an as-needed basis 
  • The Assessment Committee reports to the Dean of Record and to the Transitional Curriculum Committee 

Committee Member Expectations 

  • Attend at least 75% of the meetings 
  • Prepare for meetings in advance 
  • Complete assigned tasks in a timely manner 
  • Solicit collegial input, as appropriate 

Roles and Responsibilities  

  • To develop a fulsome, integrated assessment program across the three-year undergraduate medical education curriculum which includes: 
  • The goals of the assessment  
  • The principles of student assessment 
  • The methods of assessment 
  • Setting of cut/passing scores 
  • The timing of assessments  
  • The methods and tools for data capture, management and storage 
  • To develop and contribute to policies regarding student evaluation including but not limited to; test accommodation considerations, feedback beyond pass/fail status, learning plan development, student and faculty feedback on assessment reconsideration and appeals of awarded marks 
  • To identify needs for faculty development regarding student evaluation 
  • To propose appropriate and fair student promotion standards 
  • To ensure the principles of decolonization, equity, diversity, and inclusion are integrated into assessment 
  • To ensure assessments are aligned with the program learning outcomes (PLOs) 
  • To provide leadership and guidance on appropriate assessment methods 
  • To ensure the assessment system is designed to facilitate ongoing assessment – program evaluation with expectations for quality improvement revisions of the assessment system