CAEL Prior Learning Assessment Prior Learning Assessment “PLA 101” CAEL.

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Prior Learning Assessment

Prior Learning Assessment“PLA 101”

What is Prior Learning Assessment, or ‘PLA’? The evaluation for college credit

of the knowledge and skills one gains from life experiences (or from non-college instructional programs) including employment, parenting, travel, hobbies, and volunteer service.

Four Approaches to PLA: Nationally standardized exams

in specified disciplines ‘Challenge’ exams for local

courses Evaluated non-college

programs Individualized assessments

Types of Standardized Exams: AP Exams CLEP Tests Excelsior College Exams DANTES Subject

Standardized Tests (DSST)

More on Advanced Placement (AP) Exams: 34 Exams in 19 subject areas Common for high school

students Run by the College Board 74% within CAEL survey use

More on College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Tests: 34 tests of “101”-level material 3 to 12 credits for each exam

taken 5 million users since 1967 79% within CAEL survey use them

More on Excelsior College Exams (aka Regents College; ACT/PEP) Proficiency-based exams About 40 exams in many areas Excelsior College (New York) 31% within CAEL survey use

More on DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST): Developed for the military,

available to civilians Nearly 40 exams in many areas Run by Chauncey Group Int’l of

ETS 53% within CAEL survey use them

“Challenge” exams of local courses: At institutional discretion,

using locally-developed tests/exams

May be final exams of courses 63% within CAEL survey use

Evaluated non-college programs of instruction (externally evaluated): American Council on Education

“National Guides” with credit recommendations

Hundreds of organizations and programs, military & civilian

68% with CAEL survey use military guides, 34% use civilian guides

Individualized assessments (of students and of programs): Portfolio process – 48% within

CAEL survey use this approach College-based assessments of

external certifications – 17% within CAEL survey use this approach

Data source: Prior Learning

Assessment: A Guidebook to American Institutional Practices (1999) published by CAEL.

CAEL’s early history in PLA: 1977 – CAEL Validation Report 1977 – Principles of Good

Practice 1979 – ACE, COPA, & AACRAO

endorse PLA & CAEL Principles

1979 – 1st CAEL Survey of PLA Practices

CAEL today: Has 700+ members Consults with employers and

colleges about PLA and “adult-friendly” other service features

Also manages tuition reimbursement programs for a workforce of 500,000 for clients

Why Portfolio PLA? 3 MYTHS – PLA depresses enrollment.Tests are rigorous but portfolio PLA is not.

Only ‘weak’ or ‘lazy’ students want PLA.

Why PLA? Enrollment effects:PLA students often enroll for more (not fewer) courses vs. those with no PLA credits.

2001 Simpson College study: 75% retention with PLA vs. 38% for those without PLA.

Why PLA? Portfolio effects:Portfolio PLA students show better complex problem-solving skills (vs. classroom)

2002 University of Connecticut study in the Journal of Continuing Higher Education

Why PLA? PLA & Performance:Portfolio PLA students tend to show higher cumulative GPAs

Studies in 1992 @ UMUC, and in 2003 among 1600 students in 4 Illinois public universities.

Why PLA? As a choice factor:2000 College Board study of 1500 adults who rated ‘credit for prior learning policy’ as more important than ‘small class size’ or ‘availability of financial aid’.

Higher Learning Commission Recommends “assessment of

prior learning using principles advocated by such organizations as the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)…”

Source: Adult Degree Completion Programs, June 22, 2000

PLA Endorsed: See “Evaluation of Extra-

Institutional and Experiential Learning for Purposes of Transfer and Award of Credit,” in the joint statement of American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, American Council on Education, & the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, Sept. 28, 2001

PLA Policy Considerations: Federal level – PLA not aid-eligible State level – Some states regulate

PLA as an activity, setting ‘caps’ Institutional level – ‘Faculty

Senate’ program approval may be required

Department level – Academic disciplines vary in attitude toward PLA

Activity: DiscussionRead the ‘Sally S’ Scenario. What questions about PLA does this scenario raise for you and your colleagues?

How Do Adults Learn?The (David) Kolb Model of Experiential Learning

Source: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning & Development,

Prentice-Hall, 1984

The Kolb Model: 4 Dimensions:Concrete ExperienceReflective Observation Abstract ConceptualizationActive Experimentation

Kolb & ‘Learning Style’:Concrete Experience:Feelers: favor sensation Reflective observation:Observers: favor watching

Kolb & ‘Learning Style’:Abstract Conceptualization:Thinkers: favor abstraction Active Experimentation:Doers: favor activity

Kolb: people grow & develop:Affectively: to sense/feelSymbolically: to thinkBehaviorally: to actPerceptually: to observe

Possible Portfolio Components:Title Page / SummaryStatement of Credit Requested

Personal Goals StatementAcademic Degree PlanResume

Possible Portfolio Components:List of Learning Competencies

‘Learning Autobiography’Academic Transcripts ‘Certificated’ LearningOther Evidence of Learning

Possible Portfolio Components:Bibliography of ReadingsCourse DescriptionsLetters of Recommendation

Discussion Question:Given what has been said about adult learning theory, and the possible portfolio components, which of the components would you require of adults, and why?

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#1 - Identification: Review experience to identify potentially creditable learning.

Faculty guide adults, often through a portfolio development course.

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#2 - Articulation: Relate proposed credit to academic, personal, and professional goals.

A joint responsibility of the learner and faculty.

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#2 - Articulation: an important additional note: Both assessors and those assessed must be clear about learning outcomes, not just the learning content!

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#3 - Documentation: Prepare evidence to support the claim for credit.

Primarily for the learner to do, perhaps in a portfolio development course.

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#4 - Measurement: Determine the degree and level of competence achieved.

Faculty must do this step.

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#4 - Measurement: an additional note: there are multiple techniques to assess learning! Learner & assessor should agree upon approach.

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#5 - Evaluation: Determine the credit equivalency.

Faculty must do this step.

6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning:#6 - Transcription: Prepare a useful record of the results.

Task of administration, with the advice of appropriate faculty.

What is College Level Learning? Curricular Characteristics: Breadth: communication, arts &

humanities, social sciences, etc. Depth: in a disciplinary area Integration: Coherence,

synthesis Rigor: demanding, challenging

What ‘other’ techniques might be used to assess prior learning? Performance tests (work

samples) Simulations (games, role-play) Essays (learning

autobiographies) Interviews (structured, paneled) Checklists, rating schemes

What is College Level Learning? Process Features: Collaboration: between faculty

& student, & between students Self-reflection: on personal

values Scholarship: research basis

What is College Level Learning? Performance Domains: Communication Computation Critical Thinking Aesthetic & Ethical

Awareness Lifelong Learning

What is College Level Learning? Additional Characteristics: Having a theoretical basis Having generality beyond the

context in which it was acquired

Having representation in existing college curricula

ACTIVITY: A Portfolio ExcerptLet’s look at a segment of an actual student portfolio to test the preceding concepts …

Quality Assurance Principles:Source: Assessing Learning: Standards, Principles, & Procedures, by Urban Whitaker. CAEL: 1989

(each followed by examples of malpractice of the principle..)

Quality Assurance Principles:#1 - Credit should be awarded only for learning, not for experience.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 1:Credit for ‘time served’Example: Following WWI & WWII, GI’s received 9 to 15 units for a year and a day of enlisted or commissioned duty.

Quality Assurance Principles:#2 - College credit should be awarded only for college-level learning.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 2:Credit for ‘progress’ or ‘effort’ rather than accomplishment.

Example: The ‘A’ for effort despite lack of competence.

Quality Assurance Principles:#3 - Credit should be awarded only for learning that has a balance, appropriate to the subject, between theory and practical application.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 3:Credit for incomplete learning, missing theoretical or practical components.

Question: Would you trust pilots or physicians who lacked either component?

Quality Assurance Principles:#4 - The determination of competence levels and of credit awards must be made by appropriate subject matter and academic experts.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 4:Implying or promising in promotional materials that credit is to be awarded for experience, when real judgments must be made by qualified assessors.

Quality Assurance Principles:#5 - Credit should be appropriate to the academic context in which it is accepted.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 5: ‘Redlining’ general education or major areas for PLA credit, making it ‘elective only.’

Example: business credits counted only as electives, not in the appropriate major area.

Quality Assurance Principles:#6 - Credit awards and their transcript entries should be monitored to avoid giving credit twice for the same learning.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 6: ‘Double counting’ of credit.The integrity of the degree and curriculum is in question when double-counting occurs.

Quality Assurance Principles:#7 - Policies and procedures applied to assessment, including provision for appeal, should be fully disclosed and prominently available.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 7:Policies in name only, not in practice, such as for appeals.

No institution can put itself in the situation above without jeopardizing its integrity.

Quality Assurance Principles:#8 - Fees charged for assessment should be based on the services performed in the process and not determined by the amount of credit awarded.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 8:Billing students for PLA fees based on credits awarded.

Question: How does the assessor or institution resist the ‘perverse incentive’ in this?!

Quality Assurance Principles: #9 - All personnel involved in the assessment of learning should receive adequate training for the functions they perform, and there should be provision for their continued professional development.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 9:Assigning assessment work to persons untrained for it.

An analogy: We know that content experts are not also automatically teaching experts.

Quality Assurance Principles: #10 - Assessment programs should be regularly monitored, reviewed, evaluated, and revised as needed to reflect changes in the needs being served and in the state of the assessment arts.

‘Malpractice’ on Principle 10:Assessment program stagnation.

Without maintenance, even strong structures will weaken and eventually collapse.

Pausing Now for Discussion:What parts of the preceding “ring true” for you? Why?

What parts of the preceding material do you want to question or to challenge?

CAEL’s recommended development process for implementing portfolio PLA:Build awareness & legitimacyDesign an appropriate program

Implement it with trainingTroubleshoot startup problems

PLA from a “systems” view: Option 1: Local PLA programs &

policies at each college/university Option 2: One statewide center

for PLA decision-making; credits transferred as needed (Vermont)

Option 3: ‘Mixed’ models of individuality with collaboration

CAEL’s resources to help your school start portfolio PLA:PublicationsPublic PLA workshopsOnLine PLA certificationOn-campus consulting help

For More Information:

WWW.CAEL.ORG

CAEL Prior Learning Assessment Prior Learning Assessment “PLA 101” CAEL.

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