comparing cla to cla+
cla+
CLA+ represents the next evolution of a progressive, problem-based assessment that has been utilized by institutions of higher education for the past 10 years. Member institutions have been using the CLA to determine if their graduating students have the higher-order skills needed to succeed beyond college. Long-term CLA member institutions know that CAE (Council for Aid to Education) is committed to regular product enhancements. This commitment helps CAE and its member institutions maximize the utility of CLA results for institutional improvement. Along with that commitment is CAE’s dedication to ensuring that the data provided are comparable over time. That commitment remains true as CAE moves into the next decade of our work. There are several significant advantages for institutions to move to administering CLA+ (enumerated on the comparison grid found on the following page). Perhaps the greatest enhancement—the “plus,” if you will—is the move to a version of the assessment in which all students take all components of the CLA+. Doing so permits CAE to increase the validity and reliability of the student-level data we provide to member institutions. Given increased student-level reliability, CAE expects to see greater stability in institutional scores over time. Furthermore, increased student motivation to do well on the CLA+ (thanks to the genuine utility of CLA+ scores for the students themselves) may result in increased effort. Increased motivation and effort are likely to provide colleges and universities with a more accurate picture of the value they add to their students’ learning. In a further move to enhance the richness of the results we provide to institutions (and to students), CLA+ introduces additional subscores (scientific and quantitative reasoning, critical reading and evaluation, and the ability to critique an argument) to complement the subscores we’ve provided all along (analysis and problem solving, writing effectiveness, and writing mechanics). All of these data points together enable greater opportunities for faculty and administrators to investigate or diagnose specific areas of student, cohort, programmatic, or institutional achievement. Though there are many new components to CLA+, institutions and researchers will be able to make valid comparisons and draw conclusions over time, by focusing specifically on what the CLA and CLA+ have in common; notably, their use of the CLA Performance Task as the anchor for evaluating important transferrable critical-thinking and written-communication skills. We thank the over 600 institutions of higher education that have participated in the CLA to date. Were it not for their regular feedback, we’d not have been able to make any of these enhancements. Our fundamental goal at CAE has been and remains the better alignment of assessment with teaching and learning. Thus, the CLA+ approach for assessing crucial higher-order skills has made it novel and indispensable for educational improvement. CAE is a non-profit organization best known for its work measuring and improving the quality of secondary and postsecondary education. CAE features two nationwide assessment programs—the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA+) and the College & Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA+). These instruments provide members institutions with tools to improve critical thinking and writing skills through the connection of effective teaching, learning, and assessment efforts framed through authentic performance-based practices.
cla cla+ skills assessed overall assessment of critical thinking and writing ability assessment of analysis and problem solving assessment of writing effectiveness assessment of writing mechanics assessment of the recognization of logical fallacies in arguments (e.g. “critique-an-argument�) assessment of scientific and quantitative reasoning assessment of critical reading and evaluation
the instrument performance-based assessment anchored around the CLA Performance Task inclusion of document-based, selected-response section aligned with many of the common-core state standards
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results summary results provided for freshmen and seniors summary results provided for sophomores and juniors valid and reliable student-level results reported (both to the student and to the institution) norm-based results provided criterion-referenced (mastery level) results provided student motivation/effort survey questions included (and reported)
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uses measure of institutional value-added medium-stakes formative uses (grades, scholarships, etc.) use for admissions purposes (entering students) use for competency purposes (exiting students)
administration assessment can be completed in 90 minutes flexible admistration options (e.g., seniors assessed during the fall)
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CAE | 215 Lexington Avenue, Floor 16 | New York, NY 10016 | 212.217.0700 | cla@cae.org | @cla_beat