Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Abraham S. Fischler College of Education
Advisor
Nydia Cummings
Committee Member
Ken Stothers
Committee Member
Ronald P. Kern
Keywords
assessment, entry-level students, evidence-based practice, formative evaluation, Fresno Test, physical therapy, reliability, student assessment, summative assessment
Abstract
Evidence based practice (EBP) is a core skill required for physical therapists. This applied dissertation investigated a method to provide formative assessment of EBP skill development for entry level physical therapy students. The study utilized a version of The Fresno Test of competence in EBP, modified for physical therapy (Tilson, 2010). Evidence based practice skills are taught throughout the study site’s integrated case based physical therapy curriculum. Assessment methods addressing EBP skills currently utilized in the program are summative or do not provide standardized assessment of key component skills to guide individual student development.
The Modified Fresno Test was administered to 44 participating entry level physical therapy students at two points, six months apart, within their first year of the program. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was high with moderate test-retest reliability. Scores were clustered near the middle of the 232 point scoring range (means 107.61 (SD =16.25), 102.30 (SD = 20.37)). Changes in total scores showed no significant difference, nor exceeded the calculated MDC (11.7 and 13.3). Internal consistency for the test administered to this sample was low for the first administration, and moderate for the second administration of the test. Inter-item correlations, item difficulty and item pass rates for the sample indicate portions of the Modified Fresno Test may be more appropriate to administer to novice learners. Further research on versions of the Fresno Test need to attempt to address how these tests can best be utilized to assess acquisition of EBP skills for different levels of students and curriculum models.