Grades are the universal tool for measuring students' performance at school. However, other competency-based evaluation methods have shown to have a stronger impact on the learning quality. We investigated how different methods are collectively represented and discursively constructed among students at an Italian high school class. Thematic…

Background/purpose: British, European and American universities are increasingly adopting competency-based learning, yet, there are different and conflicting definitions of competence, competency, and competency-based learning. Consequently, multiple interpretations and understandings are held by educators in respect of what these terms mean, when…

This article troubles a pervasive concept within higher education studies: authentic assessment. Authentic assessment is well-established within higher education, and yet its common usage leaves it limited in possibility. Often understood as a practice focused on tasks, where assessments represent a 'reality' beyond universities, authentic…

Cybersecurity content is typically taught and assessed using Bloom's Taxonomy to ensure that students acquire foundational and higher-order knowledge. In this study we show that when students are given the objectives written in the form of a competency-based statements, students have a more clearly defined outcome and are be able to exhibit their…

In recent years, there have been increasing efforts to formally assess holistic competencies. These efforts tend to be policy and expert driven, overlooking students' subjectivities in being assessed. Questions remain about how prepared students are for holistic competency assessment. To address this research gap, we conducted 2150 surveys and 17…

Purpose: This article focuses on the assessment of entrepreneurship competence by selected vocational teachers in Italy. The exploratory research question addresses the extent to which entrepreneurship assessments are competence based, and the research seeks to identify fully fledged assessment programmes with both a formative and summative…

The United States is currently facing a shortage of mental-health providers that affects 160 million Americans. The need to empower the health system with appropriately knowledgeable, skilled, and diversely aware people mental-health practitioners is a critical necessity for current and future healthcare needs. This study aims to validate the…

This paper examines how assessment and grading practices have evolved post COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, more programs have begun implementing Competency-Based Education (CBE) in their practice. This article offers suggestions for higher education institutions and faculty considering implementation of CBE in their assessment practices.

Play, games and sport are a part of the content of physical education (PE), and has been the subject of a longstanding debate among educators internationally and in Scandinavian countries. Play refers to something unstructured and free, while sport is a controlled and managed activity. Drawing on Skovbjerg`s (2021) play theory, this article…

In an online learning environment, it is important to establish a suitable assessment approach that can be adapted on the fly to accommodate the varying learning paces of students. At the same time, it is essential that assessment criteria remain compliant with the expected learning outcomes of the relevant education standard which predominantly…

To meet statewide graduation requirements and receive a diploma, Pennsylvania high school students now need to demonstrate career or postsecondary preparedness through graduation requirements outlined in Pennsylvania's Act 158, which went into effect starting with the Class of 2023. Two of the five graduation pathways--the Keystone proficiency and…

Assessing competence is a tremendous challenge in medical education. There are two contrasting approaches in competence assessment: an analytic approach that aims to precisely measure observable constituents and facets of competence and a holistic approach that focuses on a comprehensive assessment of competences in complex real situations…

When colleges and universities quickly moved their classes online last March, many faculty members gave students the option of pass/fail (P/F) grading. Usually P/F implies a student must reach the minimum passing grade of D to be awarded a P. This brings up the question of what passing a course with a D means. How much of the course material did…

Contribution: A competency assessment framework that enables learning analytics for course monitoring and continuous improvement. Our work fills the gap in systematic methods for competency assessment in higher education. Background: Many institutions are shifting toward competency-based education (CBE), thus encouraging their educators to start…

While previous studies on assessments focused on measurement of principles and constructs, existing attention is given to content validation involving vocational education and skills. The emphasis on content validation has prompted a holistic perspective of teaching and learning to demand alternative research approaches. Using evidence of content…