Collaborative work, often called teamwork, is an important option for developing soft skills in higher education students. Unfortunately, when assessing technical and scientific knowledge, the application of team-based activities could result in overlooking the individual learning processes of each team member. For this reason, in this work, the comparison of a team-generated lab report and a final individual practical exam was performed to evaluate the latter’s effectiveness, as an educational innovation for assessing laboratory skills and competencies and providing feedback. The implementation of both instruments in a Food Engineering course, resulted in a normal distribution when applying an individual instrument, which resulted in a more focused and controlled record of the students’ performance and evolution throughout the course. This is a key finding for improving laboratory courses, where team-based activities could negatively affect the students’ scientific development and overall course experience.