Assessment practices and students' knowledge profiles in a problem-based curriculum

Abstract

Since the mid-1980s, many new terms have enriched the assessment literature, such as performance assessment, authentic assessment, direct assessment and curriculum-embedded assessment. This boom is a result of changes in instructional as well as in assessment approaches. Criteria for good instruction as well as good assessment practices are suggested, derived from research-based models in the field of cognitive psychology and expert-novice studies. This article first reports on the translation of these criteria into a set of the characteristics of the assessment system of a problem-based curriculum in the field of Economics and Business Administration. Secondly, the article reports a study on improving assessment practices. Is it important to map students' knowledge profiles when attempting to remediate problem-solving performances? The answer to this question depends on the extent to which a student's problem-solving performance is influenced by the quality of his/her knowledge profile. Students' knowledge profile is measured by a Knowledge Test and a Sorting Task. Students' problem-solving skills are assessed by an Overall Test. The results indicate that students with an organised knowledge base perform better in problem-solving situations than students whose conceptual models are loosely structured. The implications of these findings for instruction as well as for assessment are discussed.