Competency-Based Assessment Practices in Higher Education: Lessons from the Pandemics

Abstract

This article reports on a research project on university teaching and learning in the context of pandemics. Sixteen university professors and fifteen bachelor’s degree students were interviewed regarding “emergency e-assessment practices” during the first lockdown semester at a Spanish institution. The research aimed to understand their perception of how generic competencies were being assessed. Data were generated in semi-structured individual interviews. The main findings are: (a) generic competencies are not explicitly considered in e-assessment practices; (b) online assessment practices follow mainly a summative purpose; (c) digital technologies are not considered for the instructional design; (d) both instructors and students lack assessment literacy. Furthermore, there are difficulties in reaching a shared understanding regarding what competency-based assessment means and its implications for daily praxis. The results underline the challenge of using digital technologies for fostering and assessing generic competencies, as well as the need for assessment literacy on both sides, teachers and students.