Proficiency-Based Assessment for Undergraduate Economics Majors in Colombia

Abstract

In recent years, the teaching of economics has been rethought from the perspective of training by proficiencies where proficiency assessment is a very important piece. In this approach, Colombia has walked a path that could be of interest to other countries. This article presents the methodological basis of the State Examination on Higher Education Quality in Colombia —Saber Pro— for the specific Test in Economic Analysis, applied to students of an undergraduate economics major. Through an adaptation of the Evidence-Centered Approach to assessment design, a specific set of knowledge, skills and abilities that define a proficiency in economic analysis is established. This proficiency is a latent variable measured through a statistical model of the item response theory. The results for the 2018 test show that age and gender have a negative relation on the score, as does the fact that a student has a job and belongs to a related major.