Dr. Laura Witte
Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review physician assistant grading schemes to examine what the effect of pass/fail grading is on student stress level compared to a traditional tiered grading scheme.
Method: A detailed PubMed literature search was completed. Using the home page search bar, the key words used were “pass fail grading”. After reviewing the initial search results, a second advanced search was performed in PubMed. Using the advanced search criteria, “pass fail grading” and “stress” the initial search results were filtered. Articles were analyzed as the researcher objectively tried to address the study topic.
Results: Research demonstrates that using a pass/fail grading system could lead to less stress and anxiety in medical students while maintaining pass levels on standardized exams. This can lead to improved well-being for students.
Conclusion: The studies reviewed demonstrate that using a pass/fail grading system could lead to less stress and anxiety in medical students. This can lead to improved well-being for students while maintaining pass levels on standardized exams. Furthermore, when filtering literature on the topic of pass/fail grading and adding the advanced search term “physician assistant” there was only a single article to review. This shows a gap in the research and need for additional studies on this topic to be performed regarding physician assistant programs and students.
Grundmeyer A. The effect of pass/fail grading on physician assistant students’ well-being. University of Lynchburg DMSc Doctoral Project Assignment Repository. 2021; 3(1).
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