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Perception of students and faculties regarding the formative assessment examinations in dental college in India

Objectives: Student assessment is one of the vital elements in educational process. It is essential to conserve the formative nature of the assessment so that assessment is more structured and meaningful. Hence, it is necessary to review the existing formative assessment practises. The study was undertaken with purpose to estimate and compare the student and faculty perception about formative assessment examination in the institution. Materials and Methods: Seventy students and four faculties were enrolled for study on the basis of voluntary participation. The study participants were subjected to open and close-ended questionnaire, focus group discussions and individual interviews to obtain the perception. The responses were analysed by descriptive and thematic analysis. Results: Overall, the participants found the formative assessment practises to be satisfactory with few exceptions as there should be uniform judging criteria, and the feedback mechanism be more structured. Faculty mentioned that higher cognitive domain should also be tested in formative assessment. Conclusion: The study has brought forward the need for the sensitization of students so that applicability of formative assessment is enhanced. The periodic feedback should be obtained from faculty and students; the input will aid to plan strategies to maximize the student learning.