Multiple integrated examinations: an observational study of different academic curricula based on a business administration assessment

An observational study has been carried out to analyse differences in performance between students of different undergraduate curricula in the same written business administration examination, focusing particularly on possible effects of ‘‘integrated’’ or ‘‘multi-modular’’ examinations, a recently widespread format in Italian assessment. In three out of six cohorts, the written tests were indeed parts or modules of a multiple integrated examination, while in the other three, they were single and independent examinations. At the same time, four of the cohorts were assessed only by means of a written examination, while the remaining two were assessed by a combination of written and oral examinations. The written part of every examination was a multiple-choice test randomly drawn from the same item pool. Performances have been analysed in the light of linear and generalized mixed-effect models. As a result, the presence of an integrated examination appears to affect students’ performances on the multiple-choice test. Mixed models also estimate a gender effect, with females performing better than males, while there seems to be no effect due to the type of examination.