I. Collegiate Learning Assessment+ (CLA+):

According to the CLA+ Institution Report, the CLA+ “uses innovative questions and tasks to evaluate students’ higher-order thinking skills”. The range of possible Total CLA+ scores is from 400-1800. To see Total CLA+ scores and subscale scores on the 2013-14 administration for Nicholls and national freshmen, click here. To see scores for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

a) CLA+ Mastery Levels:

A new feature with the CLA+ is the addition of mastery levels, with every student placed into one of four categories: “Below Basic”, “Basic”, “Proficient”, or “Advanced”.

Student level – To see the percentage of Nicholls freshmen and seniors by CLA+ mastery level, click here.

Institution level – As an institution, Nicholls had a CLA+ mastery level of “Below Basic” for freshmen and of “Proficient” for seniors. This is similar to what was observed at other institutions, with 56% of institutions reported a “Below Basic” mastery level for freshmen and 70% reporting a “Proficient” level for seniors. To see a breakout of mastery levels for freshmen and seniors  by institution for the 155+ colleges and universities that participated in CLA+ during 2013-14, click here.

b) Total CLA+ ‘Value-added’ categories:

The ‘value-added’ measure compares a student’s actual score (on either the Total CLA+ score, the Performance Task subscore, or the Selected-Response Questions subscore) to an expected score based on both the student’s Entering Academic Ability (EAA) (i.e., a student’s ACT/SAT score) and the mean CLA+ score for freshmen. The ‘value-added’ measures are sorted into five categories based on the relationship between expected and observed scores: “Well Below”, “Below”, “Near”, “Above”, and “Well Above”. To see value-added scores by category for the Total CLA+ score for Nicholls freshmen and seniors, click here. To see those scores on Performance Task and Selected-Response Questions, click here.

II. Performance Task:  

In addition to the Total CLA+ scores, students receive scores on two main subscales, which are the Performance Task subscale and the Selected-Response Questions subscale. According to the CLA+ Institutional Report, the Performance Task “presents students with a real-world situation that requires a purposeful written response. Students are asked to address an issue, present the solution to a problem, or recommend a course of action to resolve a conflict.” Students are given 60 minutes to complete the Performance Task. To see scores for Nicholls and national freshmen on the Performance Task subscale, click here. To see scores for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

a) Performance Task subscales – The Performance Task is comprised of three subscales: Analysis & Problem Solving, Writing Effectiveness, and Writing Mechanics. Students receive subscale scores on a 1-6 scale from both human and machine scorers. To see subscale scores from the 2013-14 administration for Nicholls and national freshmen, click here. To see subscale scores for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

b) Effort spent on Performance Task: A new feature of the CLA+ involves asking respondents about the amount of effort they put into the Performance Task. To see results for Nicholls and national freshmen, click here. To see results for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

c) Task Engagement on Performance Task: Another new CLA+ feature involves asking respondents how engaging they find the Performance Task items. To see results for Nicholls and national freshmen, click here. To see results for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

III. Selected-Response Questions:

In addition to the Performance Task, CLA+ respondents complete 25 Selected-Response Questions, which cover items related to critical thinking and analysis. Students are given 30 minutes to complete these items. The Selected-Response Questions section of the CLA+ contains three subscales (Scientific & Quantitative Reasoning, Critical Reading & Evaluation, and Critique-an-Argument), with possible scores ranging from 200-800. To compare mean scores on Selected-Response Questions subscales between Nicholls and national freshmen for the 2013-14 administration, click here. To compare scores between Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

a) Effort spent on Selected-Response Questions: To see results for Nicholls and national freshmen regarding the amount of effort put forth on the Selected-Response Questions, click here. To see results for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.

b) Task Engagement on Selected-Response Questions: To see results for Nicholls and national freshmen regarding how engaging they found the Selected-Response Questions, click here. To see results for Nicholls and national seniors, click here.