Understanding the significance of high stakes and low stakes assessments in medical undergraduate training

Abstract

Assessment is a crucial part of the medical curriculum and is present throughout the duration of undergraduate training. Assessments should be planned in such a way that something should always be at stake (means the consequence of the assessment). Conducting assessments without keeping anything at stake makes the students adopt a casual approach toward examination, while using the results of the assessment for promotion to the next professional year accounts for an immense amount of stress and anxiety. To conclude, both high stakes and low stakes assessments have pros and cons, and the ideal approach will be to employ them as a continuum and use a mix of them. This will significantly aid in improving the learning outcomes of the students and in the attainment of the desired competencies.