Association for Dental Education in Europe

Learning together to improve oral health and quality of life

Performance Assessment of Clinical Skills (PACS): OSCE Tips and Tricks - Setting up an OSCE - Scrutiny and Standard Setting

Friday, 28th August 2026 - 09:00 to 10:30
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Timezone: 

UTC +1

Duration: 

90 Minute

Venue: 

EOK: György Békésy Lecture Hall

Session type: 
Type 2: Organised, planned and delivered by a subgroup, special interest group, community of practice of ADEE
COP
Session synopsis: 
This Community of Practice (COP) session will explore challenges associated with Performance Assessment of Clinical Skills (PACS) in dentistry. The session will build on our 2025 session which identified a need for practical training around running an OSCE. 

During the in-person workshop, we will explore at a basic and practical level how to make sense of OSCE data after the examination. We will discuss how to undertake a Borderline Regression Analysis to confirm, or otherwise, the pass mark. We will consider issues with this method and strategies for when it doesn’t work. We will then explore how to check if the examination is fair - in terms of station, examiner and circuit performance. Participants will be invited to participate in small group exercises to build on their expertise and help embed practical skills. We anticipate workshop participation to encourage collaborative partnerships and training initiatives, forming the foundation for future COP activities.

Programme: 
Approx. Duration Topic Detail
0 - 5 mins Introduction Introduce the team, outline aims and objectives
20 min Introduction to standard setting using the Borderline Regression method Short talk introducing participants to the Borderline Regression method
20 min Workshop - Scrutinising the output of borderline regression Small group workshop - Members discuss / scrutinise the output of Borderline Regression – discussing the effectiveness / decision making process.
20 mins Introduction to station, examiner and circuit analysis Broad overview of Cronbachs alpha, examiner analysis / circuit analysis.
20 mins Workshop - making sense of the data Practical exercise in small groups examining the data and making sense of the output.
Small group discussions about decision making processes following the data analysis.
5 mins Session close Summary, thanks, and next steps
Chair: 

Sarah Rolland

Senior Lecturer / Honorary Consultant in Orthodontics. Director of Assessment.
Newcastle University, UK

Sarah Rolland has worked in dental education for over 20 years, during which time she has fostered an interest in dental assessment and held the position of Director of Assessment at Newcastle Dental School (UK) for the last 6 years.  Sarah has developed and run the year 3 dental student OSCE examination, updating standard setting methods and moving to a system of sequential testing. She has been involved in the development of a new final year MOSLER examination (Multiple Observed Structured Long Examination Record), a practical assessment method that is used in medicine, but has not been widely used in dental education. Hugely enthusiastic for dental assessment, with a passion for ensuring assessments are valid, reliable and authentic Sarah enjoys working with others and looks forward to developing collaborative learning around the important and evolving area of practical assessments in dental education.

Speakers: 

Charlotte Emmanuel

Senior Clinical Lecturer/Honorary Consultant in Oral Surgery. Director of Assessment and Feedback
Cardiff University, UK

Charlotte Emanuel began her career in dental education in 2004, delivering both clinical and didactic teaching in oral surgery. A recognized specialist in oral surgery, she is deeply committed to advancing student learning through chairside instruction and case-based discussions. She has developed innovative teaching aids for exodontia and designed an ex-vivo surgical dentistry course to enhance student confidence in a simulated environment prior to patient care. Charlotte has contributed to curriculum development at Cardiff University, aligning programs with the latest General Dental Council standards. Her work with the Association of British Academic Oral Surgeons includes publishing research on national oral surgery education. Passionate about improving teaching practices, she continually seeks opportunities to support student learning and inspire the next generation of oral surgeons through collaboration and innovation

Clare McNally

University of Melbourne, Australia
Academic Lead for Assessment and Evaluation.

Clare is responsible for the assessment reform project in the MDS curriculum redesign. By developing a programmatic approach to assessment and introducing an entrustable professional activity framework for final year students, Clare is hoping to position the Melbourne Dental School (MDS) is a global leader in dental education and assessment. Clare's PhD at the University of Adelaide explored the relationship between oral health and systemic health in hospitalised older people. In addition to her academic role, Clare is the senior dental hygienist in the Oral Medicine Department at the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne helping patients with significant mucosal diseases prevent common dental conditions.

Learning Outcomes: 

During the session, delegates will:

  • Understand and describe a method for post-hoc standard setting (Borderline Regression).
  • Explain the importance of post-hoc analysis to assess station performance and fairness.
  • Develop practical skills in managing OSCE data.

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