The CLA+, a new assessment from the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) is being touted as the “post-college” SAT. What do you and your advisees need to know?
Since 2002, the CAE has written the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), a test used by more than 700 colleges and universities worldwide to measure students’ critical thinking and analytical writing abilities. The CLA does not report individual students’ results; rather, scores are reported at the institutional level to gauge how effectively a school has prepared its students to enter the workforce.
The CLA+ is the newest version of the test, and it has made many changes to provide students and institutions with information that the CLA does not provide. First and foremost, scores are now reported at the student level. In addition, the CLA+ will add assessments of scientific and quantitative reasoning, along with critical reading and evaluation, to the list of skills assessed by the CLA. All of the skills currently measured by the CLA – critical thinking and writing, problem solving, and recognition of writing mechanics and logical fallacies in arguments – will remain on the assessment as well.
Given the CAE’s goal of increasing college graduates’ workforce preparedness, it is hoping that test-takers will report their scores directly to potential employers as an indication of their readiness. It remains to be seen whether this will become a common practice, but if ETS’s pilot program to determine the potential use of GRE scores in hiring decisions is any indication, then college students may need to add taking the CLA+ to their pre-graduation checklists.
Next week, we’ll discuss competency-based assessments such as the CLA+, and the skills that they test, more in-depth. For more information on the CLA+, view the CAE’s assessment overview.
