Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) Fact Sheet for Students, Spring 2013
What is the CLA?
The CLA is a national program that evaluates the effectiveness of a college's curriculum and teaching by carefully assessing the critical thinking, analytical reasoning, writing and problem-solving abilities of its students. Basically, your performance on the two-hour assessment will help Brooklyn College answer an important question:
Are we — the faculty and administrators — doing "good enough" in comparison to similar colleges and universities across the United States?
Why do schools use the CLA?
Schools participate in the CLA to estimate how, and by how much, they contribute to their students' development of higher order skills. Collecting this information is one step in the process of improving teaching and learning.
Why is your participation important to Brooklyn College?
Not only does your participation in the CLA help to demonstrate Brooklyn College's contribution to your own learning, but by attempting to do your best on the CLA, you will also help Brooklyn College grow and improve the education that it offers to current and future students.
What’s in it for me?
In addition to the unique distinction of being able to Leave Your Mark and directly impact the academic lives of current and future students, you will receive a free $50 VISA gift card following your successful completion of the CLA and a letter of appreciation from President Karen L. Gould.
What is the format of the CLA?
There are two task types in the CLA: the Performance Task and the Analytic Writing Task. Each senior will take one task or the other, not both. The Analytic Writing Task includes a pair of prompts called "Make-an-Argument" and "Critique-an-Argument." All CLA tasks are administered online and contain open-ended prompts that require written responses. No prior knowledge of any particular field is necessary in order to perform well on the CLA.
How do I register for the CLA at Brooklyn College, and when will it be given?
You will receive an e-mail invitation to participate from Senior Vice President and Provost William A. Tramontano the week of Feb. 18, 2013. To register for the CLA, all you have to do is follow the online registration instructions contained in the e-mail.
The CLA will be given in the Brooklyn College Testing Center (245 West End Building) during specified appointment times between Feb. 28 and March 28, 2013. If you have any questions about the CLA or your invitation to participate, call 718.951.5916 or e-mail us.
