TECO-T Transversal Competencies in Medicine - Cross-sectional Analysis of TECO Survey at Sapienza University of Rome

Q: What does TECO-T assess in medical education?

TECO-T assesses four transversal domains: Literacy, Numeracy, Problem Solving, and Civics. These domains are intended to be developed during university education and are not tied to discipline-specific content.

Q: How was the TECO-T cross-sectional study conducted at Sapienza University of Rome?

The study used TECO 2024 data collected at Sapienza University of Rome from October to December 2024. A total of 1,742 Medicine and Surgery students were included.

Q: Did TECO-T scores differ across years of study?

Yes. Significant differences across years were observed in all domains, with results reported as statistically significant (e.g., Literacy F=8,534, p<0.001; Civics F=10,690, p<0.001).

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aria Callaghan

The longitudinal assessment of learning outcomes is central to modern medical education. In Italy, the TECO project coordinated by ANVUR provides a standardized framework to monitor students’ competencies through TECO-T, which evaluates four transversal domains: Literacy, Numeracy, Problem Solving, and Civics. An observational cross-sectional study used TECO 2024 data from Sapienza University of Rome (Oct–Dec 2024), covering 1,742 Medicine and Surgery students. TECO-T uses 40 MCQs (50 minutes) and shows significant year-to-year differences across all domains (p<0.001).

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages8

Reading Time20 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

1. Introduction

Background and progress testing

TECO and TECO-T framework

Transversal competencies in medical education

TECO-T TRANSVERSAL COMPETENCIES IN MEDICINE: CROSS-SECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF TECO SURVEY AT SAPIENZA UNIVERSITY OF ROME Andrea Marini Padovani 1, Giovanni Sellitto 1, 2, Ilaria Ruotolo 1, 2, Anna Berardi 1, Francescaroberta Panuccio 1 and Giovanni Galeoto 1, 3 1Department of Human Neurosciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy 2Department of Public Sciences and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 3Rome, Italy IRCSS Neuromed, Via Atinense, 18, 86077 Pozzilli, IS, Italy ABSTRACT The longitudinal assessment of learning outcomes is a cornerstone of mod-ern medical education. In Italy, the TECO project coordinated by ANVUR provides a standardized framework to monitor students’ competencies. The transversal TECO (TECO-T) assesses four domains, Literacy, Numeracy, Problem Solving, and Civics, intended to be trainable within curricula and comparable across institutions. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted using TECO 2024 data collected at Sapienza University of Rome (October-December 2024). The TECO-T consists of 40 multiple-choice questions (50 minutes), evenly distributed across the four domains. Do-main scores were summarized as mean and SD by year of course, and be-tween-year differences were tested using one-way ANOVA (p<0.05) . The sample included 1,742 Medicine and Surgery students. Significant differ-ences across years were observed in all domains: Literacy (F=8,534, p<0,001), Numeracy (F=6,390, p<0,001), Problem Solving (F=4,087, p<0,001), and Civics (F=10,690, p<0,001) . Mean scores were lowest in Year 1 and generally higher in intermediate and later years. TECO-T scores differed significantly across years of study, supporting the instrument’s ability to detect cross-sectional variations in transversal competencies across the medical curriculum. Longitudinal studies are recommended to strengthen the interpretability of these findings. KEYWORDS TECO, TECO-T, Medical Education, Transversal Competencies, Progress Testing, Quality Assurance 1. INTRODUCTION The longitudinal assessment of knowledge and competencies throughout the educational pathway represents a cornerstone of modern medical education. Within this framework, progress testing was developed in the early 1970s at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and at the University of Limburg in Maastricht, with the aim of periodically administering standardized examinations capable of measuring the entire body of students’ knowledge during their learning process. Traditionally, these tests rely on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) randomly drawn from a structured database, ensuring reproducibility and standardization. In medical education, assessment tools have traditionally focused on the evaluation of disciplinary knowledge, clinical reasoning e decision making with instruments such as the Progress Test designed to monitor the cumulative acquisition of medical content across the curriculum. This approach provides valuable information on the development of cognitive and clinical knowledge, it captures a part of the competency profile required in contemporary medical practice. The TECO project (TEst sulle COmpetenze-Test on Competencies) was established in 2012 in Italy and is coordinated by ANVUR (1) (the National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes) . TECO Transversal (TECO-T) is specifically aimed at assessing transversal competencies, including literacy, numeracy, problem solving, and civics, which are not tied to discipline-specific content but are expected to be developed throughout university education ([https://www.anvur.it/attivita/ava/teco-test-sulle-competenze](https://www.anvur.it/attivita/ava/teco-test-sulle-competenze), Reberti, 2020). The literature describes the Danish experience with the Progress Test as a curriculum-independent assessment used to monitor the development of medical knowledge across the educational pathway. Within a complementary pe

FAQs

What does TECO-T assess in medical education?

TECO-T assesses four transversal domains: Literacy, Numeracy, Problem Solving, and Civics. These domains are intended to be developed during university education and are not tied to discipline-specific content.

How was the TECO-T cross-sectional study conducted at Sapienza University of Rome?

The study used TECO 2024 data collected at Sapienza University of Rome from October to December 2024. A total of 1,742 Medicine and Surgery students were included.

Did TECO-T scores differ across years of study?

Yes. Significant differences across years were observed in all domains, with results reported as statistically significant (e.g., Literacy F=8,534, p<0.001; Civics F=10,690, p<0.001).

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aria Callaghan