The CLA instrument is somewhat like a traditional survey, except that instead of asking students their opinions about a variety of topics, it seeks to gauge how much students actually learn in college. It works much like the ACT or SAT tests, except that students are required to submit actual written responses - there are no multiple choice questions on the CLA. It then compares across institutions by controlling for incoming academic ability, estimating the contribution that an individual institution has had to the learning of that particular student. Results can be aggregated to give a 'value-added' estimate for each institution, potentially comparing institutions to each other, even when they have vastly different types of incoming students.
For more information about the CLA,
visit their website.
Click Here to access OU's 2012 CLA results (Full Report).