Online Tests Participation/Performance is a Determinant of Final Grades in Physiology

The internet-based educational technology has been widely used in the medical schools all over the world. It gives a way for teachers to create online self-evaluation tests and for students to take tests without having to turn in a grade to the teachers. To test the hypothesis that internet-based online tests participation/performance is positively correlated with the final score of physiology course, 84 third-semester medical students were tracked for their frequency of attendance and performance of online tests and their final grades examined by traditional assessments. The results showed that the high frequency of attendance in the online tests resulted in a high score on the final assessment, and the score of the online tests was positively correlated with the written examination score (r=0.74). The finding suggests that online tests participation/performance may be a significant determinant of performance of medical students in basic medical science courses. It is concluded that the internet-based educational technology will improve the quality of medical education.