Smart device-based testing for medical students in Korea: satisfaction, convenience, and advantages

The aim of this study was to investigate respondents’ satisfaction with smart device-based testing (SBT), as well as its convenience and advantages, in order to improve its implementation. The survey was conducted among 108 junior medical students at Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Korea, who took a practice licensing examination using SBT in September 2015. The survey contained 28 items scored using a 5-point Likert scale. The items were divided into the following three categories: satisfaction with SBT administration, convenience of SBT features, and advantages of SBT compared to paper-and-pencil testing or computer-based testing. The reliability of the survey was 0.95. Of the three categories, the convenience of the SBT features received the highest mean (M) score (M= 3.75, standard deviation [SD]= 0.69), while the category of satisfaction with SBT received the lowest (M= 3.13, SD= 1.07). No statistically significant differences across these categories with respect to sex, age, or experience were observed. These results indicate that SBT was practical and effective to take and to administer.