College-wide assessment by source of evidence
The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA)
Overview
The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) provides direct assessment evidence of the impact of college on the thinking and writing abilities of undergraduates. The CLA assesses students' demonstrated ability to think critically, interpret and apply data appropriately, and write effectively.
National CLA instrument
The CLA has been administered at St. Olaf since Fall 2005. It has been used to provide both a cross-sectional picture of changes in student proficiencies and a longitudinal picture of changes over time in a single group of students.National CLA website
The CLA was developed over a period of several years by the Council for Aid to Education, a national non-profit organization focused on improving quality and access in higher education. As of spring 2011, over 500 institutions and 250,000 students have participated in the CLA.St. Olaf CLA results and reports
The difference between the scores of entering and graduating students, and between students’ actual and predicted performance, helps to capture the contributions of the college to the development of student proficiency in critical thinking, interpretation of evidence, and effective writing.St. Olaf uses of CLA results
CLA results have been used at St. Olaf in the review of the College's general education requirements, to secure grant funding for improving curriculum and pedagogy, to inform the development of the College's 2011 strategic plan, and to assist in the development and evaluation of the College's Quality Improvement initiative for our re-accreditation in 2012-2013.
