Third Annual PCOA Administered; Three-Year Trends Assist Colleges with the Review and Progression of Pharmacy Curriculum

July 15, 2010 2:12 PM

After three annual administrations, the Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment^® (PCOA^®) has consistently provided data to schools and colleges of pharmacy regarding the progression in student knowledge of the pharmacy curriculum during the professional years. Measurement of students’ ability to master pharmacy knowledge as they advance through these years is evidenced in the overall data and trends gathered from the three consecutive PCOA administrations. Each administration supported an expected outcome of improved performance as measured by comparative studies between program years. Among repeat test takers, the changes in individual scaled total scores showed an average increase of 18 points between consecutive years and an average increase of 42 points across all three years.

Overall, the results garnered and the trends witnessed over the three years directly parallel the mission of the PCOA as a uniform tool for assisting schools and colleges of pharmacy with curriculum review and analysis. NABP and key stakeholders originally developed the assessment in response to the need expressed by some of the United States schools and colleges of pharmacy, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, and the US Department of Education for assistance with curriculum development and measurement of student performance and growth. To date, more than 7,200 students from 36 schools and colleges of pharmacy, representing nearly one-third of the schools and colleges of pharmacy in the US, have participated in the PCOA since it was first administered in April 2008.

To assist the schools and colleges of pharmacy in measuring this growth, each participating school and college of pharmacy is supplied score reports with information on student performance. In addition, these reports allow the schools and colleges to track individual scores from year to year and document advancement and progression over time in their program. Along with providing a comparison to national samples, the assessment imparts score data that may be used by the schools and colleges of pharmacy in research and correlational studies with existing assessment results such as Pharmacy College Admission Test scores, academic proficiency, and future North American Pharmacist Licensure Examination^® scores.

The 2011 PCOA will be administered January 24-February 4, 2011. Schools select one day out of the two-week testing window to administer the assessment. Registration materials were distributed to all schools and colleges of pharmacy. Information on the assessment is also available on the NABP Web site.