CLA+ preview materials

teach learn assess

cae | 215 Lexington Avenue, Floor 16 | New York, NY 10016 | cla@cae.org | 212.217.0700 | @cla_beat

cla+

sample prompts performance tasks

selected response

cla+

ductivity in coll llege Are grades in college and overall productivity college negatively affected by a student’s use of social networks? A group of researchers hypothesized that students who use social networks on a regular basis get lower grades in college than students who do not.

In order to test this hypothesis, researchers collected data from students at a large university. The researchers stood on a popular corner of campus and asked 50 students to answer a few questions.

The city of Springfield is deciding whether to implement a tax on junk food. Some citizens of Springfield believe that junk food is the cause of the obesity epidemic in their city. Others believe that individuals have the right to consume whatever foods they choose and citizens should not be taxed for purchasing foods that are high in fat, sugar, or sodium. The representatives in Springfield’s senate are deciding whether to implement this tax.

As an intern for one of the senators, you have been asked to write a memo that addresses whether the Springfield senate should implement a tax on junk food. Draw evidence from the following documents: An abstract from a study reporting a relationship between obesity and junk food consumption A political cartoon depicting how taxing junk food affects the under-priviledged A blog posting for people that support healthy eating

The Newmont School Board is deciding whether or not to build a new gymnasium for Newmont High School. There has been some controversy in the community regarding whether resources should be spent to build the new gymnasium. The School Board, which is responsible for making this decision, has collected several documents to help them make their decision.

Some board members feel this is an unnecessary expenditure, particularly given Newmont’s limited resources. Other members feel that there are considerable benefits to building the new gymnasium.

As the chair of a special committee on the board, your task is to write a recommendation that addresses whether the Newmont School Board should build the new gymnaisum. Draw evidence from the following documents: A survey of townspeople reflecting a belief that the district cannot afford to build the gym A cost analysis to build the gymnasium, including a budget for the town An engineer’s report on the structural status of the current gymnasium A blueprint showing the specfications of the new gymnasium

Students take 60 minutes to complete a single Performance Task, designed to, among other things, measure their ability to problem solve, analytically reason, write effectively and exhibit standards of writing mechanics.

Researchers found that 75% of the students said that they did not think that spending time social networking interfered with their grades. The researchers decided to compare the average amount of time that students spend on social networks each week with each student’s GPA. Based on the results, researchers conducted that their hypothesis is correct: students who use social networks on a regular basis do worse in college than students who do not.

The researchers would like to conduct another study to see if their hypothesis holds true. Which of the following research designs will best test their hypothesis?

(A) Ask the same questions at the same university but to a different group of people.

(B) Ask the same set of questions but at a different large university.

(C) Ask a different set of questions at a different large university.

(D) Ask the same questions but at numerous universities of varying sizes.

Students are alloted 30 minutes to take 25 selected response items, designed not to assess their mastery of content, but rather their ability to scientifically and quantitatively reason, read and evaluate information with a critical eye, and critique faulty arguments.

cae | 215 Lexington Avenue, Floor 16 | New York, NY 10016 | cla@cae.org | 212.217.0700 | @cla_beat

university college institutional report

Thank you for participating in the CLA+. We hope your institution finds the below information helpful in your larger educational improvement efforts.

CLA staff welcome any questions you may have about interpreting this report. Further, feedback on the usefulness of the report itself is also always welcome.

national performance sophomores

juniors

seniors

1184 0.25

1214 0.54

1245 0.89

1047

1088 0.19

1125 0.49

1170 0.77

performance task analysis & problem solving writing effectiveness writing mechanics

1102

1178

1216

1254

1052

1089

1124

1173

2.6 2.5 2.7

3.1 3.2 3.3

3.6 3.6 3.8

3.9 4.1 4.3

6 6 6

2.4 2.5 2.4

2.9 2.7 2.9

3.3 3.4 3.3

3.5 3.7 3.5

selected response scientific/quantitative reasoning critical reading & evaluation critique an argument

1096 3.2 3.4 1.9

1190 4.0 4.2 2.3

1213 5.1 5.4 3.6

1236 6.8 6.5 3.9

10 10 5

1043 3.1 3.2 1.4

1085 4.0 4.3 2.2

1126 4.8 5.1 2.9

1168 6.3 6.4 3.2

value-added analysis

note: available only for institutions that assess freshmen & senior cohorts

expected senior score

observed senior score

performance level

total cla+

2.01

96

1180

1240

++

performance task selected response

1.46 2.25

93 97

1201 1172

1254 1236

+ ++

value-added score

percentile rank

effect size vs. freshmen

Your institution Other CLA institutions 1300

1200

1100

1000

Observed Mean Senior CLA Score

total cla+

freshmen

seniors

1100

freshmen

juniors

explain

sophomores

total possible

your overall performance

cla+

Observed performance equal to expected performance

900

Expected Mean Senior CLA Score 900

1000

1100

1200

1300

this to me

The total CLA+ score is determined by students’ combined performance on a Performance Task and a set of Selected Response items. These scores are further informed by student traits, as represented by the subscore categories of analysis & problem solving, writing effectiveness, etc. You may choose to compare your scores to the national norms to get a sense for how well your students compare against other students across the country.

If your institution assessed both freshmen and seniors, we are able to provide both effect size and valueadded metrics, which take into consideration the varying characteristics of students when they entered your (and other) institutions. Thus, comparisons across institutions can be made on an even playing field.

Value-added scores are reported in standard deviations, percentile ranks, and performance levels. The comparison of observed versus expected scores allows us to take into consideration the varying entering academic abilities of students at different institutions.

1400

cae | 215 Lexington Avenue, Floor 16 | New York, NY 10016 | cla@cae.org | 212.217.0700 | @cla_beat

jane doe student report

Thank you for participating in the CLA+. This assessment--unlike more common tests--focuses on the general outcomes of your education; namely, your ability to think critically, problem-solve, and write. These are the types of higher-order skills that are increasingly necessary for success beyond college.

cla+

jane doe university college senior total cla+: performance task: selected response:

cla+

1381 1343 1418

percentile rank among students at your institution percentile rank among students at all institutions

1170

1343

1254

1173

4 5 4

3.9 4.1 4.3

3.5 3.7 3.9

1236

1168

6.8 6.5 3.9

6.3 6.4 3.2

selected response 1418 scientific/quantitative reasoning 9 critical reading & evaluation 8 critique an argument 4

6 6 6

10 10 5

across all institutions (other seniors)

1245

out of possible

average at all institutions (other seniors)

1381

within your institution (other seniors)

performance task analysis & problem solving writing effectiveness writing mechanics

asverage at your institution (other seniors)

total cla+

selected response

percentile ranks your score

your overall performance

performance task

99

95

85

83

98

97

explain

this to me

Your total CLA+ score is determined by your combined performance on a Performance Task and a set of Selected Response items. These scores are further informed by specific traits, such as analysis & problem solving or writing effectiveness.

You may choose to compare your scores to the averages of other CLA+ students at your institution or across all institutions. For ease of intrepetation, these comparisons are provided as percentile ranks for your total CLA+ score, your performance task score and your selected reponse score (e.g. a percentile of 95% means you performed better than 95% of your classmates or all students, respectively).

We hope you’ll use this report to assess how prepared you are with the skills necessary to succeed in and beyond college. As applicable, we encourage you to review these scores with faculty and--depending on how well you feel you performed--provide them to future employers as evidence of your readiness.

cae | 215 Lexington Avenue, Floor 16 | New York, NY 10016 | cla@cae.org | 212.217.0700 | @cla_beat