Revista Guillermo de Ockham · 2025

Reframing assessment in higher education: integrating competency-based and adaptive digital assessment for 21st century learning outcomes

Resumen

This study aimed to explore how competency-based education (CBE) principles can be effectively integrated into adaptive digital assessment systems to enhance learning outcomes. Using a design-based research (DBR) methodology with 58 participants (faculty, instructional designers, and students) across three Indonesian public universities, this study developed and empirically validated the first scalable framework merging CBE with adaptive assessments. Using a design-based research methodology across three Southeast Asian public univer-sities, the study involved faculty, instructional designers, and students in co-developing, implementing, and evaluating an integrated assessment model. Through iterative co-design workshops, the researchers operationalized three competency domains (cognitive reasoning, situational judgment, and communication proficiency) into an adaptive Moodle/H5P prototype using IRT-based branching logic. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, system logs, and focus group discussions and analyzed using thematic and descriptive statistical techniques. Mixed-methods data (interviews, system logs, focus groups) revealed a 25 % increase in student engagement (M = 28.3 vs. 22.6 minutes, p < 0.05, Cohen’s d = 0.7) and 91 % feedback uptake, with qualitative themes highlighting improved self-regulation and faculty buy-in through participatory design. Results revealed that adaptive assessments enhanced learner engagement, self-regulation, and feedback res-ponsiveness, while also making competencies more observable and assessable. The integration can bridge theory and practice in ways that support learner diversity, agency, and contextual relevance. This study advances the field by demonstrating how stakeholder co-ownership and embedded feedback mechanisms can reconcile competency-based rigor with adaptive personalization—a critical step toward equitable 21st-century assessment systems