Tackling Differential Attainment in Summative Assessments: Roundtable Report & Recommendations 17.09.2020

Abstract

Differential Attainment or Outcomes or award (DA) is a euphemistic phrase that describes the historical and persistent differences in award levels based on factors other than academic/ professional capability or effort. The impact of this endemic discrimination of affected individuals/ groups has a profound impact on careers and wellbeing on a personal (micro) level on them, productivity, team-working or patient safety impact at organisational (meso) level and at a much larger societal/ socio-economic level (macro) level for the country.

This roundtable sponsored jointly by the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) and the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is the first of a series of events organised by the BAPIO Institute for Health Research (BIHR) exploring DA across the journey of a medical professional from entry to medical school all the way to retirement.

This roundtable is focussed on DA as observed in summative assessments in high stakes professional examinations, which are essential for entry, progression, or accreditation.  The findings and recommendations of this series will be published in the rainbow paper “Bridging the Gap” celebrating diversity in the NHS. This report should be read in conjunction with the scoping paper which presents the evidence base for the discussion and recommendations.