Survey of prior learning assessment practices in pharmacy education

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, Spring 2001 by Fjortoft, Nancy F, Zgarrick, David P

On the whole, most programs reported that they adhered to the standards of good PLA practice. One area of weakness was providing evidence of prior learning balanced between theory and practical applications. Programs did not note whether or not the balance was in favor of practice or theory, but we suspect, given the nature of the profession, the balance is on the side of practical applications rather than theory-based learning. This is one area of concern. One criterion for prior learning assessment is that credit is awarded for college-level learning (in this case, PharmD level learning). College-level learning has been defined as having three qualities: (i) that it is conceptual; (ii) that it is generalizable and should be applicable outside the specific job setting in which it was learned, and (iii) it is traditionally taught in academic programs(22). Pharmacy educators need to be cautious and ensure that the learning demonstrated, particularly in portfolios, needs to be at the PharmD level, and not the baccalaureate level.

Comparison of Methods

The following section briefly compares the advantages and disadvantages of each method described in this study, based on the data collected.

Portfolio Review. Portfolios may allow the student to demonstrate the depth and breadth of his or her experience and match those experiences with specific course goals and objectives or competencies. Portfolios are being used primarily for experiential courses. Of all the methods discussed in this paper, portfolio review may be uniquely suited for experiential courses. The success of a portfolio review may, however, rely on the student's organizational and communication skills.

The disadvantages of portfolio review include both student and faculty time. Students may spend several months in writing the portfolio and collecting supporting documentation. Evaluating the portfolio is also very time consuming for faculty. Faculty need to develop specific competencies or outcomes for courses so that the student may use that information as a guide in writing the portfolio. This is also essential for the evaluation of the portfolio, which can be a time consuming process. Another disadvantage to portfolio review may be the subjective nature of the evaluation. The results of this study suggest that the success of portfolio review is linked to the rigor of polices and procedures to guide both students and faculty in the development and review of portfolios.

Commercial Exams. Commercially developed exams are relatively easy to use for prior learning assessment and require little or no faculty time to administer and evaluate. The exams are usually psychometrically sound and have been found to be reliable and valid measures of defined domains and constructs. Pharmacy examinations such as those prepared and administered by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties are well established and commonly accepted in the profession. The disadvantages of using these kinds of exams are that they may not exactly match specific course or program criteria and they are administered infrequently and at specific locations.