“Forgetting” after an exam might not be a bad thing
– Written by: Dr. Claudio Violato –
Modern testing of physicians and other healthcare professionals is well established and rely on scientific processes and procedures encompassed in the field of psychometrics. While the science of testing and assessment for the purpose of certification and licensure has developed in the past century or so, the regulation of medical and health care practice has its roots in antiquity (see other blog posts for its origins).
The first country in the world to implement standardized testing on a broad scale was Ancient China. Called the imperial examination, the main purpose of the test was to select candidates for specific jobs in the government[1]. The imperial examination was established during the Sui Dynasty in 605 AD. It lasted for 1300 years and was abolished in 1905 during the Qing Dynasty[2]. During the period of use the imperial examination system played a central role in the Chinese imperial government. It served as a tool for the political and ideological control, functioned as a proxy for education, produced an elite social class, and became a dominant culture in traditional Chinese society[3]. The examination system was an attempt to recruit candidates on the basis of merit rather than on the basis of family or political connection.
The texts studied for the examination were the Confucian classics. After a period of emphasis on memorization without practical application and a narrow scope, the exam underwent change (circa 960), stressing the understanding of underlying ideas and the ability to apply classical insights to contemporary problems. Students sometimes spent 20 to 30 years memorizing the classics in preparation for a series of up to eight examinations in philosophy, poetry, mathematics, and so on.
By the 20th century the imperial examination was considered outdated and inadequate. Meanwhile, an examination system modelled on the Chinese imperial exam was adopted in England in 1806. Its purpose was to select specific candidates for positions in Her Majesty’s Civil Service. This system was later applied to education and influenced testing in the United States as it became a model of standardized tests. These practices include using standard conditions for the test (e.g., quiet setting, proctors supervising) and standard scoring procedures (e.g. using exam scorers who were blinded to the candidates’ identity) and protocols (e.g., scoring rubrics).
Sources:
[1] Dubois, PH (1970). A History of Psychological Testing Boston: Allyn Bacon.
[2] Miyazaki I (1981) China’s Examination Hell: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China USA: Yale University Press.
[3] Wang R (2013). The Chinese Imperial Examination System. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press.
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