Examinations are an important part of teaching. They provide both lecturer and student with feedback on the current level of performance.

This feedback can take the following forms:
→ grades,
→ criteria such as "pass/fail" or
→ written or verbal feedback following the examination.

There are different assessment methods that are used depending on what is to be assessed. Studying dentistry has high practical and academic demands. The assessment methods are correspondingly diverse.

Written assessment methods

Written examinations can be used to assess knowledge or clinical decision-making. One of the most frequently used/established formats are multiple-choice exams (MC exams).

There are also other formats such as key feature questions. These consist of the presentation of a clinical situation as it may occur later in a doctor's professional life, in which certain "critical decisions" have to be made in order to solve a clinical problem (such as ordering further examinations or deciding how to proceed with a patient).

The open question format is also still used.

Oral assessment methods

In oral examinations, the examiner can test procedural knowledge and, in comparison to written examinations, go into more detail on the individual answers of the examinee. Oral examinations can be based on specific case studies or can also take place in a free form in everyday clinical practice.

The three state examination sections (Z1 | Z2 | Z3) also include oral examination elements.

Practical evaluation methods

Practical examinations are used to test manual skills or clinical-practical skills.

The practical assessment method is mainly used in dental treatment courses (phantom courses and integrated patient treatment courses).

Different methods are used depending on the context:

Work samples

Work samples in which isolated treatment steps are carried out (e.g. preparation of a tooth for a crown), especially in preclinical courses.

Coursework

Comprehensive therapies that have been carried out over a longer period of time in the preclinical or clinical course are assessed in terms of their quality of results and process quality.

OSCEs

Objective structured clinical examination in which candidates go through a course of examination stations. At each station, a different clinical-practical task must be carried out on simulated patients or in the laboratory.