Research Summary: Progressive integration of meaningful summative assessment and formative assessment: a longitudinal analysis of student performance in higher education

A study conducted in a public university in Ecuador analyzed the association between four successive institutional assessment policies and student academic performance over four academic periods. Utilizing a large dataset of student-course enrollment records, the research focused on the progressive integration of meaningful summative assessment and formative assessment, particularly the transition from undifferentiated assessment models to competency-differentiated structures. The findings are intended to contribute to the limited large-scale longitudinal evidence in Latin American public higher education regarding assessment policy reform.

Why it matters

This research provides critical insights into the efficacy of assessment policy reforms in higher education, particularly the shift towards integrating formative feedback and competency-differentiated structures. Understanding the impact of such policies on student performance is vital for strategic planning and ensuring educational quality and institutional effectiveness.

Key insights

• The study addresses the scarcity of large-scale longitudinal evidence on the association between institutional assessment policy reform and student academic performance, especially in Latin American public higher education.
• It examined four successive institutional assessment policies within a single public university in Ecuador across four consecutive academic periods.
• The focus was on the transition from undifferentiated assessment models to competency-differentiated structures.
• A key aspect of the reform involved integrating formative feedback within the summative assessment framework.
• The methodology employed a comparative quasi-longitudinal design, utilizing 921,795 student-course enrollment records.

Source

Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1906986