4.5 Required Assessments
As defined by ASHA, formative assessment is: “ongoing measurement during educational preparation for the purpose of improving student learning. Formative assessment yields critical information for monitoring an individual’s acquisition of knowledge and skills. Such assessment must evaluate critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills. Measures should include oral and written components, as well as demonstrations of clinical proficiency.”
A summative assessment is: “…a comprehensive evaluation of learning outcomes at the culmination of educational preparation. Summative assessment yields critical information for determining an individuals’ achievement of knowledge and skills.”
To this end, the IHP AuD program includes a series of formative assessments that occur during the first year of the program and two summative assessments in the final academic semester before the externship year.
Formative Assessments
Critical thinking, decision-making, and problem-solving skills are assessed during supervised clinical practical in the first year. Students are expected to acquire fifteen core clinical skills by the end of the spring semester of the first year.
In the fall semester, students will document seven instances of their ability to independently perform each clinical skill using a physical (paper) checklist.
In both the fall and spring semesters, the students’ progress on each core competency will be documented by their clinical preceptor In Exxat. To continue to the clinical internship in the summer, the student’s final evaluation in the spring semester must indicate minimum proficiency for each of the 15 core clinical skills.
Students who do not achieve these core competencies will enroll in an additional (fourth) clinical practicum during the summer semester of the second year. If the student fails to achieve the required level of competence in each core clinical skill at the conclusion of this practicum, they will be considered for dismissal from the program. Note that this path to remediation delays the start of internship placements during the second year and will delay externship placement and graduation.
Summative Assessment
In the final academic semester (Spring) prior to the externship year, all students are required to successfully complete a two-part summative assessment of knowledge and skills. The details of, and requirements for, each assessment are reviewed with students during the Year 2 Orientation.
A passing score (>80%) on each portion of the assessment is required to proceed to the externship year. Students who fail either the written or practical portion have one opportunity to retake and pass the assessment. A one-semester period of remedial instruction may be required. A second failure of either portion of the assessment will result in dismissal from the program.