COM – Standardized Scoring Policy for M1 and M2 Biomedical Sciences Courses

Policy Number: 3349-AC-429
Effective Date: 07/01/2020
Updated: 06/27/2023
Reviewed: —
Responsible Department: Office of the Dean, and Medical Education, College of Medicine
Approval Authority: Dean, College of Medicine
Responsible Office: Office of the Dean, and Medical Education, College of Medicine

A. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to standardize the scoring structure for M1 and M2 courses.

B. Scope

This policy applies to the biomedical sciences courses of the M1 and M2 curriculum unless otherwise noted. Integrated Case Experiences is exempted from this policy.

C. Definitions

1. “Course Directors” refer to the appointed faculty members who are responsible for the overall design, implementation, student assessment within and evaluation of a credit-bearing course.
2. “Final Engaged Learning Score” refers to the cumulative score of engaged learning activities (e.g., Peer Instruction, problem-based learning, case-based learning and others) in which the faculty has assigned a score.
3. “Final Course Score” refers to the overall total score that includes weighted scores from engaged learning activities, midterm(s), and final exam that is customized National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) assessment.

D. Policy Statement

1. All biomedical science courses in the M1 and M2 curriculum will calculate the Final Course Score using the following formula:
   1. Final Engaged Learning Score will comprise 10% of the Final Course Score.
      1. The majority of the Final Engaged Learning Score should come from Peer Instruction, unless the course directors feel that other engaged learning activities should predominate.
         1. The Pre-clerkship Curriculum Subcommittee and Curriculum Committee must approve the grading structure of any course that Peer Instruction does not constitute the majority of the Final Engaged Learning Score. This approval must occur prior to the publication of the syllabus.
      2. Each Peer Instruction item is worth one (1) point.
         1. If the Course Directors choose to score other engaged learning activities, then those scores should be equal in weight by session to those from Peer Instruction.
      3. The Final Engaged Learning Score will be adjusted to exclude scores from time permitted as allowable excused absences as described in the College of Medicine Attendance at Instructional Sessions policy 3349-AC-418.
      4. In all M1 biomedical sciences courses, the scores from first poll Peer Instruction questions will not be a component of overall grade for that session.
      5. In all M2 biomedical science courses, the scores from first and second poll Peer Instruction questions will contribute equally to the overall grade for that session.
      6. A student’s progress in a curriculum will not be adversely impacted due to technology malfunction. If a malfunction prevents the student from participating in a portion of a virtual Peer Instruction session, the student will immediately reach out to the Course Director to inform them. The Course Directors will take appropriate action to assure that the student’s final engaged learning score is not impacted for remaining content subsequent to notification and verification of technology malfunction.  The curriculum committee will monitor technology issues so that adjustments can be made for persistent and pervasive concerns.
   2. Midterm(s) will be created as institutionally developed multiple-choice questions and will comprise 35% of the Final Course Score.
      1. In courses with multiple choice exams, each exam may contribute 10-17.5% to the final score.
   3. Final exams will be constructed as NBME Customized Assessments and will comprise 55% of the Final Course Score in courses employing a single midterm examination and will comprise no less than 40% of the Final Course Score in those courses employing multiple midterms.
      1. The length of the exam should be based on the length of the course as follows: for an 8-week course (120-150 items), 6-week (90-120 items), and 4-week (60-90 items).  Regardless of class duration, no examination should exceed 150 items.
      2. The overall exam difficulty (p-value) should approximate 0.82, meaning that the expected NBME average score would be 82%. A typical acceptable range of average exam difficulty is a difficulty of 0.75-0.85.
      3. Courses that use practical laboratory exam score or other assessments as a portion of the Final or Midterm Exams should seek approval from the Pre-clerkship Curriculum Subcommittee and Curriculum Committee. If use of other assessments impacts the above approved distribution of overall score, the specific grade weighting of each aspect of the course should be presented in the request for approval.
      4. Modules that plan to use a practical lab score as a substitute for a percent of the NBME should petition the Curriculum Committee for an exception.
   4. Any exceptions to the requirements described above must be approved by the Pre-clerkship Curriculum Subcommittee and Curriculum Committee before the syllabus is published and the course starts.
   5. All assessments must meet quality standards set forth by the College of Medicine and Curriculum Committee. Courses whose assessments do not meet quality standards will be reviewed by the Curriculum Committee.

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