The total APP score ranges from 0 to 80. Rasch analysis of APP scores indicated that the data had adequate fit to the chosen measurement model (Rasch Partial Credit Model), the Person Separation Index demonstrated the scale was internally consistent discriminating between four groups of students with different levels of professional competence, the items were targeting the intended construct (professional competence) and the instrument demonstrated unidimensionality

(Dalton et al 2011). The APP has been widely adopted by entry-level physiotherapy programs in Australia and New Zealand. Given the high stakes of summative assessments of clinical performance, assessment procedures should not only be feasible and practical within the clinical environment, but also demonstrate sufficient reliability and validity Selleck BIBF-1120 for the purpose (Baartman et al 2007, Epstein and Hundert 2002, Roberts et al 2006). An instrument that yields scores with inadequate consistency

in different circumstances, when the underlying construct (in this case, professional competence) is unchanged, would be of limited value no matter how sound other arguments are for its validity. In the context of assessment of workplace performance, reliability is the extent to which assessment yields relatively consistent results across occasions, contexts and assessors (Baartman et al 2007). Reliability is dependent on the GSK1349572 characteristics of the test, the conditions of administration, the group of examinees and the interaction between these factors (Streiner and Norman 2003, Wolfe and Smith 2007). While repeated, blinded testing of the same student under the same conditions in the authentic practice environment by the same assessor is not feasible in performancebased assessment, the consistency with which different assessors rate the performance of different students (interrater reliability) is achievable. Since inter-rater reliability What is already known on this

topic: The Assessment of Physiotherapy Practice (APP) is a valid measure of the clinical competence of physiotherapy students. It covers professional behaviour, communication, assessment, analysis, planning, intervention, evidence-based practice and risk management. What this study adds: Clinical Montelukast Sodium educators demonstrate a high level of reliability using the APP to assess students in workplace-based practice. Assuming that there is a true value for professional competence, two sources of error in ratings are of interest. One is the random variation in scores when the same underlying professional competence is assessed by independent assessors; the other is the systematic variation in scores. The latter may result, for example, from assessors with different expectations of entry level competence for individual items on the APP, or from different circumstances within which the student is assessed that enable or restrict a view of student competence.