The Role of Continuous Assessment in Promoting Sustainable Academic Writing Skills in Tertiary Education: A Case Study

This study investigates the role of continuous assessment in fostering sustainable academic writing skills in tertiary education. The primary aim is to evaluate whether a continuous assessment model supports stable writing performance across different student cohorts (cross-cohort stability) and across diverse writing tasks within a single course (cross-task stability). The significance of this research lies in its provision of multi-semester, course-specific evidence from an English-medium instruction context, offering valuable insights for assessment design, pedagogy, and quality assurance. Employing a quantitative retrospective case study design, the study analyzed institutional assessment data from six offerings of an academic writing course, ENG 102 (N = 149). Sustainability was operationalized as consistent performance across cohorts and tasks, measured through total continuous assessment scores and component-level task performance. Descriptive statistics and comparative analyses revealed generally stable performance across five of the six cohorts. One cohort exhibited lower mean scores and higher variability, suggesting sensitivity to contextual factors. Component-level analysis indicated a balanced performance profile across foundational and advanced writing skills, including argumentation, source integration, and research writing. The findings support continuous assessment as a sustainable practice that promotes cumulative skill development. The study recommends reinforcing this model through clear rubrics, consistent marking, and structured feedback cycles, and encourages institutions to utilize longitudinal assessment data for monitoring and improving writing outcomes in English-medium programs