The Value of Programmatic Assessment in Supporting Educators and Students to Succeed: A Qualitative Evaluation

Background Programmatic assessment has been proposed as the way forward for competency-based assessment, yet there is a dearth of literature describing the implementation and evaluation of programmatic assessment approaches. Objective To evaluate the implementation of a programmatic assessment and explore its ability to support students and assessors. Design A qualitative evaluation of programmatic assessment was employed. Participants/setting Interviews with graduates (n = 8) and preceptors (n = 12) together with focus groups with faculty assessors (n = 9) from the one Australian university explored experiences of the programmatic approach, role of assessment in learning, and defensibility of assessment decisions in determining competence. Analysis performed Data were analyzed into key themes using framework analysis. Results The programmatic assessment increased confidence in defensibility of assessment decisions, reduced emotional burden of assessment, increased value of assessment, and identified and remediated at-risk students earlier when philosophical and practice shifts in approaches to assessment were embraced. Conclusions Programmatic assessment supports a holistic approach to competency development and assessment and has multiple benefits for learners and assessors. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2021;121(9):1732-1740.