Web‐based evaluation system for closing the education gap in Kampo medicine between facilities

Aim The aim of this study was to clarify whether the common three‐question test works well in assessing learning effectiveness in medical students (MS) who took heterogeneous programs in kampo medicine (KM) education in Japan. Methods We performed Web‐based tests composed of the three common and other questions at two medical universities with different KM education programs. We examined performance of the common three‐question test in the assessment of learning effectiveness. Results In total, 105 and 123 fourth‐year MS took the Web‐based test after KM education at universities A and B, respectively. MS with total scores higher than the mean + 1 SD (n = 19) and those with total scores lower than the mean – 1 SD (n = 11) on the Web‐based tests were defined as high and low achievers, respectively, at university A. Likewise, 25 and 19 MS were defined as high or low achievers, respectively, at university B. The predictor, consisting of the three common questions, classified MS as high achievers if they correctly answered two or three of the three common questions, and as low achievers if they gave only one or no correct answers. The predictor accurately classified high and low achievers in 30/30 (accuracy, 100%; sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 100%) and in 36/44 cases (accuracy, 81.8%; sensitivity, 96.0%; specificity, 63.1%) at universities A and B, respectively. Conclusion A test composed of only three common questions could consistently assess the effectiveness of different education programs for KM at two medical universities.