Hybrid Digital and Traditional Assessments in The Assessment-as-Learning Framework

Abstract

The increasing integration of digital technologies in higher education has transformed assessment practices and encouraged the adoption of Assessment-as-Learning (AaL), which emphasizes reflection, self-monitoring, and learner autonomy. Despite the growing popularity of digital assessment, empirical evidence comparing its effectiveness with traditional assessment in promoting student engagement remains limited. This study investigated whether digital and traditional assessment modalities produce different levels of cognitive engagement when implemented within an AaL framework. A quantitative counterbalanced repeated-measures design was employed involving 72 undergraduate students enrolled in an Educational Evaluation course at a public university in Indonesia. Participants completed both traditional and digital assessment activities addressing equivalent learning objectives. Cognitive engagement was measured using an adapted version of the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) focusing on the Control and Relevance of School Work dimension. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro–Wilk tests and paired-samples t-tests were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics 25. The results indicated high levels of cognitive engagement under both traditional (M = 3.92, SD = 0.59) and digital assessment conditions (M = 3.76, SD = 0.64). However, the difference was not statistically significant, t(71) = 1.901, p = .061, with a small effect size (d = 0.22). These findings suggest that assessment modality alone does not significantly influence cognitive engagement. Instead, pedagogical elements embedded within the AaL framework appear to play a more important role in supporting meaningful learning. The study provides empirical support for hybrid assessment models that combine digital and traditional approaches while maintaining a strong focus on reflective and learner-centered assessment design.