Assessment practices can significantly influence both achievement and students’ engagement with second-language writing. This study examines the impact of a combined assessment approach, incorporating continuous formative assessment alongside final summative assessment, compared with a summative-only model in an Italian higher-education context. Quantitative achievement data were analysed across three academic years, with equalised samples of 47 students per assessment condition for each year. Students assessed through summative-only procedures achieved a mean GPA of 19.16/30, compared with 23.74/30 for students experiencing combined assessment. Pass rates were also consistently higher in the combined-assessment groups. Survey data from 34 students in the combined-assessment condition explored learners’ perceptions of feedback, motivation and assessment anxiety. A strong positive relationship was found between feedback and motivation (r = .938), while feedback was strongly negatively associated with anxiety (r = −.970). However, anxiety did not significantly mediate the relationship between feedback and achievement. These findings support the value of formative assessment and effective feedback in promoting learning (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Hattie & Timperley, 2007) and suggest that integrating regular formative opportunities with summative assessment may improve writing performance while increasing motivation and reducing assessment-related anxiety. The study highlights assessment design as an integral component of university-level L2 writing pedagogy.
Keywords: formative assessment; summative assessment; L2 writing; feedback; motivation; assessment anxiety
REFERENCES
[1] Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74.
[2] Nicol, D. J. & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 199–218.
[3] Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.
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