Alternative Assessment in Competency-Based Education: Portfolios, Projects and Authentic Tasks as Replacements for Examinations

Competency-based education (CBE) requires learners to demonstrate what they know and can do through evidence of knowledge, practical skills, critical thinking and the application of learning to real-world situations. However, examination-dominated assessment may provide insufficient evidence of sustained performance, collaboration, creativity and reflective learning. This study examined the potential of portfolios, projects and authentic tasks as alternatives to conventional examinations in secondary education. A convergent mixed-method design was adopted, and data were collected from 240 participants, comprising 200 students and 40 teachers, in four public secondary schools in Imo State, South-East Nigeria. The mean scores were 71.0 for conventional examinations, 76.0 for portfolios, 80.0 for projects and 78.0 for authentic tasks on a 100-point scale. Teacher responses identified marking workload (75.0%), inconsistent scoring (67.5%) and unequal access to resources (62.5%) as the leading implementation challenges. The literature suggested that alternative assessment can broaden the evidence available for evaluating competency, encourage feedback-informed learning and strengthen the connection between curriculum objectives and practical performance. Nevertheless, its effectiveness depends on assessment design, transparent rubrics, scoring consistency, teacher preparation and equitable access to resources. The study proposed a balanced assessment framework that combines portfolios, projects and authentic tasks with examinations where appropriate. It concluded that alternative assessment should replace examination components only when its validity, reliability, fairness and feasibility have been established through empirical evaluation.