$100,000 shopping spree: The home version

Background: Although student assessment is a costly part of medical educati on, seldom does it receive the same degree of scrutiny as does the core cur riculum. The $100,000 Shopping Spree was developed as a simulation to help articulate the values and goals undergirding undergraduate medical curricul um. Description: Participants were given a fixed budget and predetermined costs for each of the available student assessment options. Under these conditio ns, the exercise forced participants to make difficult choices about the ti ming and mix of assessment strategies. Other key features of the simulation are presented. Evaluation: Although not formally evaluated, each participant reported unex pected benefits from his or her participation. It helped them clarify their understanding of the values underlying undergraduate medical education at their respective institutions. Conclusions: When representatives from a number of medical schools particip ated clear differences were evident in the pattern and timing of purchases as well as in the relative emphasis placed on assessing knowledge, performa nce, and professional behavior. We present suggestions for implementing thi s simulation as a means of focusing discussions about the role of student a ssessment in undergraduate medical education. The benefit is a clarificatio n of the values underlying an institution's approach to medical student ass essment.