A new approach to continuous assessment: Moving from a stressful sum of grades to meaningful learning through self-reflection

Abstract

This paper proposes a new approach of continuous assessment of a formative nature, aimed at achieving meaningful learning with lower stress levels. This approach minimizes the punitive nature of traditional summative continuous assessment and replaces typical graded activities with self-reflecting ones. To conduct the formative evaluation, a teaching model has been developed to guide the choice of feedback and feed-forward strategies to be implemented by the instructors, depending on the students’ levels of competence and confidence. To validate the effectiveness of this approach, a quasi-experimental design was employed, with the new continuous assessment method in the experimental group and the summative continuous assessment method in the control group. The experiment was conducted in a Mathematics course with undergraduate Economics and Business students. Data were collected through test scores and a perception questionnaire. The results indicate that the new evaluation method promotes meaningful learning and yields better academic results compared to the traditional continuous evaluation. Students expressed high satisfaction with the new approach, noting that it allows them to understand their formative status and address deficiencies before undertaking evaluable activities. They also believe this strategy helps reduce the stress associated with the summative evaluation itself.