ABSTRACT A new approach, ‘Variable Time Fixed Result (VTFR) Assessment’, which shifts the focus from time‐bound assessments to mastery‐based learning to accommodate students with varying learning abilities and levels of preparedness is presented in this paper. In this approach, the correctness of problem solving is not only verified for the final answer of the problem, but the intermediate steps and their correctness is also ensured. This approach was applied for assessments of four challenging concepts in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and IT Engineering. The results obtained indicate that the student performance after VTFR assessment has significantly improved, thereby confirming better learning of the concept and also its retention. Around 70% of the students have indicated preference for VTFR assessment as compared to the traditional approach. Opportunity to retry problems with reduced anxiety levels during assessment, has been the main reason for this shift in preference.
Bhamre et al. (Sun,) studied this question.