ASSESSMENT TO IMPROVE TEACHING AND LEARNING

PERFORMANCETASKS

All of the CLA’s products and services center onopen-ended performance tasks that mirror the types of challenges students will be faced with after graduation.

CLA Performance Tasks are designed to measuregrowth in four key areas:

CRITICAL THINKINGANALYTIC REASONINGPROBLEM SOLVING &

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

INSTITUTIONALREPORTING

STUDENT-LEVEL DATA FILE

COL�BORATIVEOPPORTUNITIES

PEER GROUPCOMPARISONS

PERFORMANCETASK ACADEMY

PERFORMANCETASK LIBRARY

FACULTYCERTIFICATION

STUDENTFEEDBACK REPORTING

ADMINISTERING THE C� UTILIZING OTHER C� TOOLSStudents take the CLA online within a proctored setting.

For the standard CLA assessment that permits comparisons among participating colleges and universities, each institution isrecommended to test a representative sample of 100 freshmen and 100 seniors, or at least 25% of each class. Each student is

randomly assigned a CLA task. Students sit for the assessment for approximately 90 minutes. Freshmen test within a 10-week fall

window. Seniors test within a 10-week spring window.To enroll, contact cla@cae.org or 212.217.0700.

We invite you to learn more about the additional products and services that are available through the CLA that complement its utility as an assessment. These more recent innovations of

the CLA are designed to foster collaboration among institutions in ways that assist in the improvement efforts of ALL schools.

These tools accentuate the importance of using assessment as a means to improve teaching and learning, not just as an exercise in accountability.

For more info, contact classroom@cae.org or 212.217.0700.

Permits value-added comparisons across participating institutions.

Allows institutions to consider variation within their student samples (e.g., by course-taking patterns, student demographics),particularly for those institutionsthat elect to in-depth sample.

Networking venues at nationalconferences and monthly webinars (highlighting campusesdoing interesting work) facilitate the sharing of best practices.

Component of the institutionalreport that Enables comparisonsof value-added scores byinstiutional characteristics(e.g., size, sector, Carnegieclassification).(in development)

Faculty work with retired CLA tasks and learn how

to create their own content-embedded performance tasks.

Faculty-created performancetasks created by Academy

attendees that can be downloaded, adapted, or

implemented for curricular purposes.

Provided to Academy attendees after demonstrating

their ability to create their own performance tasks.

Student- and cohort-level use ofCLA tasks that can used to

provide feedback onstudents’ abilities to think

critically and write pursuasively.(in development)

COLLEGIATE LEARNING ASSESSMENT

212.217.0700 | cla@cae.orgwww.collegiatelearningassessment.org

CAMPUS AND STATE OFFICIALS SHOULD DO MORE TO STRESS THE BROADER SOCIAL PURPOSE OF ASSESSING LEARNING AND DO MORE TO FOCUS ATTENTION ON HOW THE DATA CAN BE

USED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS. “

“

Stanley Ikenberry; Co-Principal Investigator; National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment

SAMPLE TASKS

REPORT DASHBOARDVALUE-ADDED

You are the assistant to Pat Williams, President of DynaTech, a company that makes precision electronic instrumentsand navigational equipment. Sally Evans, a member of DynaTech’s sales force, recommended that DynaTech buy a small private plane (a SwiftAir 235) that she and other members of the sales force could use to visit customers.Pat was about to approve the purchase when there was an accident involving a SwiftAir 235.

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Using the documents provided, please answer the following questions:(1) Do the available data tend to support or refute the claim that the type of wing on the SwiftAir 235 leads to more in-flight breakups?(2) What is the basis for your conclusion?(3) What other factors might have contributed to the accident and should be taken into account?(4) What is your preliminary recommendation about whether or not DynaTech should buy the plane and what is the basis for this recommendation?

Sample Make-an-Argument and Critique-an-Argument tasks are available on collegiatelearningassessment.org.To experience the CLA online as students do, you can request access to a demonstration task from cla@cae.org.

FRESHMEN SENIORS

VALUE-ADDED

1050 58

102 950

1150 70

98 980

UnadjustedCLA Score

Unadjusted%ile Rank

Unadjusted%ile Rank

UnadjustedCLA Score

Number ofStudents

Number ofStudents

MeanEAA Score

MeanEAA Score

1.4 81

PerformanceLevel

DeviationScore

PercentileRank

ABOVEEXPECTED

Confidence Interval

0.9 to 1.8

In line with the recommendationsIn line with the recommendationsof many tools of institutionalof many tools of institutional

transparency--such as the VSA--transparency--such as the VSA--the CLA uses advanced value-the CLA uses advanced value-

added methodology to produceadded methodology to produceinstitutional mean scores for institutional mean scores for entering and exiting students.entering and exiting students.

We also provide value-added scoresWe also provide value-added scoresthat capture whether the growththat capture whether the growth

on the CLA between enteringon the CLA between enteringand exiting students is above, near,and exiting students is above, near,

or below, the growth that is or below, the growth that is typically observed at schoolstypically observed at schools

with students of similar enteringwith students of similar enteringacademic ability.academic ability.