Competency-Based Education draft and the role of cla+
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The number of degrees awarded through competency models has gained significant traction in the higher education sector. Instead of progress measured by the number of credits accumulated, progress and degree attainment is measured by successful passage of specific competency tests. While once this may have appeared to be the domain of online (or distance-learning) institutions (like Western Governors, the University of Phoenix, Kaplan University, and Capella University), more traditional universities (as well as their overarching systems) in Texas, Florida, Arizona, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Washington and California are beginning to introduce their own competency models. Lest critics believe that the competency-model trend is no more than most recent reform-related fad, the American Council on Education (ACE) has recently announced plans for assessing the potential of awarding college credit for courses taken at MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).1 If there was previous acceptance of a competency model, it has been found most often in those institutions meeting the needs of job-seeking adults, particularly those seeking higher-paying occupations that require higher value-added skills. However, competency-based degrees clearly also have a bright future with non-profit colleges that are struggling to achieve success as measured by the traditional standards of time to degree and degree completion rates. Undergraduate degrees that are awarded on the basis of the competency model can and are offered on the basis of giving students credit for previous learning, not just course work. Some institutions may offer students the possibility of attaining an undergraduate degree on the basis of taking end of curricula tests only. But perhaps the most dramatic, and recent, proposed adoption in the competency concept is in its alignment with another fundamental shift, the decline of the monopoly of knowledge and information held exclusively by colleges and universities and the corresponding decline in the monopoly of those same institutions in the transmission of knowledge and information to directly to students. This, of course, is enabled by new technological developments. Increasingly, individuals collect content and information directly through search engines. In theory this presents an opportunity for entrepreneurs to develop curricula, courses, digitized text materials and assessments, place them on web platforms and market them directly to students. In other words, granting the premise that the competency model is acceptable in post secondary education, multiple options and models of instructional formats are now possible that connect content directly with the student as potential consumer, rather than instead of having them go through traditional, brick and mortar keepers of that information. There are, of course, important questions to resolve about the extent to which the competency model can be equated with the time-honored attributes associated with liberal education. For instance, would a competency-based model, particularly one taken completely online, impart the same desire to learn, to constantly pursue new knowledge and skills, as is accepted as part of the traditional college campus experience? But to ignore the potential of a competency-model based solely on this concern would not be wise. Achievement of competency in employable fields would be a positive step forward for millions of adults, and available technology makes this attractive in its attainability. Moreover, 1
See “ACE to Assess Potential of MOOCs, Evaluate Courses for Credit-Worthiness.� http://www.acenet.edu/newsroom/Pages/ACE-to-Assess-Potential-of-MOOCs,-Evaluate-Courses-for-Credit-Worthiness.aspx
the direct connection between content delivered on apps to individuals is congruent with the emerging individual-centered world we could inhabit in the future. So let’s not ignore the competency-model, nor the fact that it obviously exists and can only continue to grow. Now that the competency model has arrived, the question becomes what assurance can be given that a competency-based degree is equivalent to the traditional liberal arts based degree? It will be critical for competency-based degrees to be legitimated by an independent third party that provides a solid answer to this question. The use of validated standardized assessments, which have already been used widely in the traditional highereducation sector, will boost confidence in the results found at the institutions that adopt the competency model. All online based undergraduate programs will especially wish to employ an independent, third party assessment to corroborate the efficacy of their programs. In all likelihood, for profit online programs will have to do so in order to avoid punitive regulatory sanctions. The Case for CAE and CLA+2 CAE is a respected educational testing organization recognized as the premier leader in development of 21st century assessments. CAE created the post-secondary market for valueadded, performance-based assessment of institutions of higher education (through CLA+) and has led the charge for the adoption of the same type of assessment in the k-12 sector (through CWRA+). CLA+ and CWRA+ represent recent iterations of the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) and College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA) which, for the first time, provide reliable results at the individual-level. As we enter an age that will increasingly call upon individuals to prove that they have the necessary critical thinking skills to succeed, the time is right— particularly in a competency-framework—for such an individual assessment. CLA+, like the CLA before it, is anchored by the Performance Task. The CLA+ Performance Task measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, writing effectiveness, and writing mechanics. A selected response section, closely aligned with the Performance Task and assessing a student’s ability to scientifically and quantitatively reason, as well as critically read and evaluate information, completes the CLA+ instrument. The result is a cost effective protocol that is reliable for individual student results. While a value-added assessment still has a tremendous amount of merit, CLA+ was designed to reinforce the idea that, in order to truly gauge the value of the educational experience, it is encouraged that institutions assess and data-mine larger populations of students. There is a strong case to be made for institutions—whether credit-hour or competency-based—to assess all entering freshmen to assess their college readiness. Moreover, institutions and students may wish to benchmark their progress through sophomore, junior, or senior years. 2
CLA+ is anchored by a Performance Task and 25 Selected Response Items (SRIs). SRIs are aligned with and designed to apply the same analytic principles of the performance task. In total, the CLA+ assesses students’ and institutions abilities to think critically. The ability to think critically is contributed to by students’ performance in the categories of: analysis and problem solving, writing effectiveness, writing mechanics, scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical reading and evaluation, and critique-an-argument. CLA+ priced (approximately $35 per student) to complete favorably with existing national tests, such as SAT and ACT.
Conclusion The competency model has arrived in postsecondary education. CLA+ is well suited to assess entering freshmen to provide them and their host institution a reading of what skills they need to improve. CLA+ is the only current test that is appropriate for providing graduating seniors (or graduating community college students) a certificate of results that they can show employers to assert their career readiness. Indeed, given this direct value to students, institutions may choose to ask students themselves to contribute to the cost of the assessment. At the same time, these results will (as they always have) provide colleges with the critical information they need to determine whether their students meet the minimum proficiency levels in student learning. Since graduating seniors gain significant information from CLA+ they can use for employment purposes, institutions will want to consider asking them to pay for taking the test. Importantly, testing all or a sample of entering freshmen and graduating seniors permits the value added approach pioneered by the CLA to be calculated. In short, CLA+ is well suited to play the role of an independent, third party assessment that competency-based programs of higher education should adopt.