Evaluating assessment quality in competence-based education: A qualitative comparison of two frameworks

Abstract

Because learning and instruction are increasingly competence-based, the call for assessment methods to adequately determine competences is growing. Using just one single assessment method is not sufficient to determine competence acquisition. This article argues for Competences Assessment Programmes (CAPs), consisting of a combination of different assessment methods, including both traditional and new forms of assessment. To develop and evaluate CAPs, criteria to determine their quality are needed. Just as CAPs are combinations of old and new forms of assessment, criteria used to evaluate CAP quality should be derived from both psychometrics and edumetrics. A framework of ten quality criteria for CAPs is presented, which is then compared to Messick’s framework of construct validity. Results show that the 10-criterion framework partly overlaps with Messick’s, but adds some important new criteria, which get a more prominent place in quality control issues in competence-based education.