A pre- and post-test assessment of concept learning in research design

Objective: To assess concept learning and topic difficulty in a concept-based research methods course. Methods: A pre-post exam was given to second professional year Doctor of Pharmacy students enrolled at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy using 25 concept-based multiple choice questions. Rasch analysis was used to determine the change in student ability and to assess question difficulty. Results: A total of 94 students completed both pre- and post-tests (response rate = 96.9%). As a group, student ability significantly increased from the pre- to post-test (p < 0.001). Of these, 30 students showed a significant increase in ability (p < 0.05). Ten questions showed a significant change in difficulty level. Conclusions: Students learned the material over the semester as indicated by the overall increase in student ability. Changes in question difficulty provide evidence for the importance of practice when learning concepts.