Changing from academic grading in conventional system to competency-based assessment is well-debated around the globe. The recent preferred system is valued as better to reflect both skills and knowledge for real life situations while the old system gives more trustworthy comparison that leads to upright higher education acceptance. Combining both should be a consideration to take whole benefits that will be explained in this essay.
In the most recent day, competency based assessment (CBA) has been so popular especially with the implementation of Merdeka Curriculum in Indonesia. It gives more freedom that certainly purposed to give more independence and stronger responsibility toward the applications of project-based learning that covers multiple fields based on students preferences. A huge example is showed in some activities those are related with enterpreneursip that will be advantageous to some students who love business. They are led to learn how to produce, distribute, and sell sequentially that can give lots of overview to their future career. It can be said that this new aspect is necessarily exist in the school especially to non-academic focused students.
However, it can be better when CBA can be combined without put aside a traditional scoring system with exact number. This system is loved by some students who are mostly called book worms but motoric students hate to stay in the library to collect theoretical knowledge. One correct example that has been applied in some universities in Indonesia is categorizing both academic and non-academic achievements. It can go with the combination to surpass motivation to achieve both then the academic purpose to go to unversity is not going to be abandoned.
In conclusion, each system gives benefits those are loved by some student types both in academic and non-academic sides. That is why the combination to reach real purpose to continue academic can not be abandoned yet real life knowledge remain important for each individual.