STUDENT PERSPECTIVES ON THE ROLE OF FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN PHYSIOLOGY

Assessment within the medical system in India is largely summative. Th ere is, however, an increasing awareness of the need for formative ass essment. In this study we developed a system for the formative assessm ent of 'core' areas within the physiology curriculum. Student reaction s to the assessment were ascertained. The results indicate that the va st majority a students react positively to formative assessment as it allows them to gauge their strengths and weaknesses without penalizati on. In addition, the assessment revealed considerable lacunae in the t ransfer of 'core' knowledge despite what the faculty considered to be an effective teaching programme.