Transcript Credit by Examination: The Standardized PLA Option

Council on Adult and Experiential Learning
November 2011
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College-Level Examination Program (CLEP®)
◦ Keith Henry, Senior Assessment Manager, The
College Board
DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST®)
◦ Giannina Rachetta, Product Marketing Manager,
Prometric
Excelsior College Examinations® (ECE)
◦ Ruth Olmsted, Associate Dean, Center for
Educational Measurement, Excelsior College
UExcel®
◦ Susan Henken, UExcel Brand Director, Pearson
VUE
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Selected findings from the following sources:
 Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution
Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student
Outcomes (CAEL, March 2010)
 Moving the Starting Line (CAEL, August 2011)
 Degree Completion Beyond Institutional Borders:
Responding to the New Reality of Mobile and Nontraditional
Learners (CAEL and Center for American Progress, October
2010)
 Online enterprises gain foothold as path to a college degree
(Tamar Lewin, NY Times, 25 August 2011)
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CBE is the most common PLA form, but 84% of the
institutions offer 4 or more methods
◦ Standardized exams
 (94%)
◦ Portfolio assessment
 (88%)
◦ ACE-evaluated military training
 (81%)
◦ ACE-evaluated corporate training
 (77%)
◦ Institutional challenge exams
 (65%)
◦ Institutionally evaluated training
 (63%)
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Over all students in the study, whether they
earn a degree or not, PLA students still
accumulated credits toward a degree at more
than twice the rate of non-PLA students
◦ Baccalaureate degree students received an average
of 20.1 PLA credits, associate degree about 10
◦ Average credits earned increased with student age
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“Critics worry that the
online courses are less
rigorous and more
vulnerable to cheating, and
that their emphasis on
providing credentials for
specific jobs could
undermine the traditional
mission of encouraging
critical thinking,”
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“A recent study by Teachers
College at Columbia
University that tracked
51,000 community college
students in Washington
State for five years found
that those with the most
online course credits were
the least likely to graduate
or transfer to a four-year
institution.”
Credit by exam, with its rigorously academic content standards and
secure administration, should stand out as a more valid and desirable
option for adult learners seeking degree completion.
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Staff from CAEL’s own
LearningCounts program
report that about 65% of
applicants are advised away
from the portfolio process,
usually to CBE or the ACE
National Guide offerings.
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Excelsior College, a pilot
participant in
LearningCounts, excludes
from the courses eligible to
be challenged through its
own portfolio program, any
that have a standardized
exam.
For the student, credit by exam is much more highly structured than
portfolio assessment. Options for study range from self-selected
reading materials and free open courseware to slick, commercial test
preparation packages and individualized tutoring, but all have in
common that experts have already defined the content to be mastered,
and the student is assessed on learning outcomes without regard to
seat time spent acquiring the learning.
Of course, Structured  Easy, but Portfolio is not a sure thing, either.
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Portfolio assessment is
labor intensive for both the
student and the evaluator,
and takes skilled data
management on the part of
the overall program. It is
difficult to standardize
while keeping it open for all
kinds of knowledge to be
assessed.
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Online courses require
faculty to teach a defined
number of students per
section. Increasing access
to courses requires hiring
more faculty and managing
more sections and/or
running a less-thandesirable faculty : student
ratio.
Credit by exam is highly scalable. Unless you are providing test prep
services, the number of students who can be served is limited only by
test center capacity (and staffing for student inquiries, registration
processing, and the like). Testing agencies take care of the up-front
development costs, maintenance, analysis, and delivery contracts. If
you have a testing center eligible to deliver their tests, you may actually
increase college revenue.
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“Offering multiple options is important because
some learning is easily captured through
standardized exams while other learning requires
the more customized approach made possible
through the portfolio. Further, multiple options can
be important for acknowledging that not every
student is suited to standardized exams, and not
every student will find the portfolio process’s
workload appealing.”
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Recognition by ACE CREDIT
◦ Listing in online National Guide to Credit for
Workforce Training
◦ Common, standardized development procedures
◦ Adherence to psychometric guidelines
◦ Rigorous security procedures
◦ College-level credit equivalencies
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Compliance with Standards for Educational
and Psychological Testing
Computer delivery
Diversity of offerings
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Mostly multiple-choice, with some essays, listening
sections, and locally delivered performance
assessments
Most are 90 minutes to 2 hours in length
“Rights-only” scoring (no penalty for wrong answers)
Immediate score reports (except exams with essays)
Passing scores scaled to be equivalent to a grade of C
on the corresponding course
Standing faculty committees that oversee ongoing
test development, shape content, review data, set
exam policies
We have all been in the military market, although
recent cutbacks have affected servicemembers’
access to free CBE
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No PLA policy at their institution
Lack of awareness of an existing PLA policy
◦ Advising
◦ Admissions
◦ Faculty
Policy that limits acceptance based on
◦ Skepticism about academic rigor
◦ Seat-time definition of learning or credit
◦ Portability of credit when transferring
Campus test center issues including capacity and
availability of desired testing programs
Lack of Title IV financial aid for CBE
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Benefits
◦ Addresses cost challenges associated with
traditional degree programs
 Provides options for students who are wait-listed or
closed out of required courses
◦ Convenient and cost-effective method for nontraditional students to earn credits
◦ Students prepare independently rather than taking
a semester or more of class in which they learn
nothing new
◦ Students are more challenged and engaged
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Limitations
◦ Low awareness among target audience (9% of
general population reports any familiarity with CBE)
◦ Testing reputation – bad press about K-12
assessment generalized to all tests
◦ Institutional skepticism about CBE and what
student really knows (even when there are
statewide policies)
 Inconsistent or incomplete CBE policies
◦ Viewed as revenue competition (see retention and
graduation data for the counter to this)
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All the CBE programs have met the same
rigorous standards, so why not accept all of
them for credit at your institution?
◦ We asked the institutions why they offer PLA, allowing them to
indicate one or more responses from a list of 18 possible reasons.
The most popular responses were:
 “to provide a time-saving avenue for degree completion,”
 “to fulfill our mission to serve adult learners,”
 “to encourage greater student persistence towards a degree.”
◦ Other popular responses were
 “to recognize the value of learning that happens outside of the
classroom,”
 “to provide a cost-effective avenue for degree completion.” (Fueling the
Race, p. 21)
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Granting credit for all the CBE programs
◦ Provides a larger catalog of potential course equivalents
than any single program or combination can
◦ Addresses the retention, persistence, and degree
completion issues that may occur because of closed or
wait-listed courses
◦ Allows adult students choices that honor their different
learning styles and life experiences
◦ Respects the effort that all the CBE programs put into
winning and maintaining their national recognition
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Setting policy for use of individual exams is
still the institution’s or system’s
prerogative. You can:
◦ Grant a different amount or level of credit
◦ Grant credit only if an institutional prerequisite or
subsequent course is passed
◦ Grant advanced standing or a waiver rather than credit
◦ Set a different passing score
◦ Require additional documentation of mastery such as work
samples
◦ Limit application of CBE to specific areas of the curriculum
◦ Limit total CBE credits that can be applied toward a degree
 Basic
facts
 Unique features
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Serves adults, non-traditional learners, and
military service members
All lower-level credit
More than seven million exams taken since
1967
1,700+ colleges administer CLEP , 2900
receive and grant credit
211,000 exams administered in 2009–10,
including 76,500 administered to military
service members
Exam fee = $77.00
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CLEP is a verb (“I clepped out of that class”)
Backed by the clout of the College Board,
known for the SAT, AP, ACCUPLACER, etc.
6-credit General exams that can fulfill a
typical distribution requirement
Foreign Language exams with dual scoring
levels (6 credits for passing score, 12 credits
for higher cut-point)
Identified open courseware resources for
most exams
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Originally designed for military service
members and adult learners, it is available to
all college students
Aligned with course content for core
curriculum and elective credits
Mix of lower and upper-level credit
Over 1,900 institutions award credit for DSST
exams, more than 1,700 institutions deliver
DSST exams at their test centers.
Cost effective for students @ $80 per exam
or funded for military service members
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Internet-based testing provides more location
flexibility than a dedicated test center driver
Secure-browser examination environment
Paper-based testing still available
Public Speaking exam that includes
performance assessment – now fully online
New re-take policy reduces the wait time for
exam re-take
Test preparation includes practice exams and
authorized preparation courses from DSST
partners: iStudySmart, Peterson’s and
Innovative Academic Solutions
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Developed and maintained by Excelsior
College (formerly Regents College) – an
adult-serving institution for more than 40
years
Formerly known as Regents College
Examinations or ACT-PEP
Both lower and upper-level credit
Exam fees = $95 - $355, depending on
length and format (no separate seat fees)
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Unique suite of Nursing exams used in
assessment-based degree programs at
Excelsior College
Administered at both free-standing and
campus-based testing centers worldwide
Letter grades, with Excelsior College credit
awarded for a grade of C or better
Robust study support including detailed
content guides, specific textbook
recommendations, and practice exams with
answer rationales
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An alliance between Pearson VUE and
Excelsior College
◦ Pearson VUE: Program management and delivery
of tests
◦ Excelsior College: Test development, academic
validity, awards college credit, transcript
preparation
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Complementary with ECEs in terms of
offerings
Exam fee $85, no additional seat fee
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Developed by a regionally accredited
institution of higher learning and securely
computer administered worldwide
Provides transcripted college credit to
students who pass exam
Provides immediate letter-grade scoring on
all exams (including College Writing, thanks
to automatic essay scoring software)
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Amongst ourselves, we offer more than 100
different exams, with some overlap in
popular subjects
While your institution may also accept AP or
IB credits, those are usually not accessible to
students who have left secondary school
behind
Our test center networks and availability are
slightly different
History and Government
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American Government (C)
Civil War and Reconstruction (D)
History of the United States I and II (C)
History of the Vietnam War (D)
Human Cultural Geography (D)
Intro. to the Modern Middle East (D)
Political Science (U)
Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union (D)
Social Sciences and History (C )
Western Civilization I and II (C )
Western Europe Since 1945 (D)
World Conflicts Since 1900 (E)
C = CLEP, D = DSST, E = ECE, U = UExcel
Other Social Sciences
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Abnormal Psychology (E)
American Government (C)
Art of the Western World (D)
Criminal Justice (D)
Cultural Diversity (E)
Foundations of Gerontology (E)
Foundations of Education (D)
Fundamentals of Counseling (D)
General Anthropology (D)
Human Cultural Geography (D)
Life Span Developmental
Psychology (C, D, E)
Intro. to Educational Psychology (C)
Intro. to Law Enforcement (D)
Intro. Psychology (C, U)
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Intro. Sociology (C, U)
Juvenile Delinquency (E)
Macroeconomics (C, E)
Microeconomics (C, E)
Political Science (U)
Psychology of Adulthood & Aging
(E)
Research Methods in Psychology (E)
Social Psychology (E)
Social Sciences and History (C)
Substance Abuse (D)
World Population (E)
Humanities, English/Speech, Languages
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American Literature (C )
Analyzing and Interpreting Literature (C )
Bioethics: Philosophical Issues (E)
English Composition (C, E, U)
English Literature (C )
Ethics in America (D)
Ethics: Theory & Practice (E)
French (C )
German (C )
Humanities (C )
Interpersonal Communication (E)
Intro. to Music (E)
Intro. to Philosophy (E)
Intro. to World Religions (D)
Principles of Public Speaking (D)
Spanish (C, U)
Science and Mathematics
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Anatomy & Physiology (E)
Astronomy (D)
Biology (C )
Calculus (C, U)
Chemistry (C )
College Algebra (C, D)
College Mathematics (C )
Earth Science/Geology (E, D)
Environment & Humanity (D)
Microbiology (E)
Natural Sciences (C )
Pathophysiology (E)
Physics (U)
Precalculus (C )
Principles of Physical Science (D)
Statistics (D, U)
Professional Studies: Business,
Technology, Education
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Business Ethics & Society (D)
Business Law (C, D)
Business Mathematics (D)
Financial Accounting (C , D)
Human Resource Management (D, E)
Information Systems and Computer
Applications (C )
Intro. to Business (D)
Intro. to Computing (D)
Labor Relations (E)
Literacy Instruction in the
Elementary School (E)
Management Information Systems
(D)
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Money & Banking (D)
Organizational Behavior (D, E)
Personal Finance (D)
Principles of Finance (D)
Principles of Management (C )
Principles of Marketing (C )
Principles of Supervision (D)
Technical Writing (D)
Professional Studies: Nursing and Health
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Adult Nursing (E)
Community-Focused Nursing (E)
Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Safety (E)
Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Differences (E)
Essentials of Nursing Care: Chronicity (E)
Essentials of Nursing Care: Reproductive Health (E)
Fundamentals of Nursing (E)
Health Differences Across the Life Span 1, 2, & 3 (E)
Here’s to Your Health (D)
Management in Nursing (E)
Maternity/Maternal & Child Nursing (E)
Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing (E)
Research in Nursing (E)
Transition to the Registered Professional Nurse Role (E)
Time
 One exam equals 3
semester hours or
more
 45 clock hours or more
Money
 At an average of
$500/hour, each exam
saves the student
$1,500
 Institutions save as
well
255,000 PLA Exams in 2009-10
• Students saved 765,000 semester hours
• Students saved 11,475,000 clock hours
• Students saved$382,500,000
• Institutions saved $1,530,000,000
Assumes tuition from state = 20% of budget
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Degrees of Change: Private Sector Innovations
Transforming Higher Education
◦ May 16, 2011 summit at the US Chamber of Commerce
◦ A project of the Institute for a Competitive Workforce
◦ Included a presentation on CBE as a way to meet educational and
corporate needs
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Plans for a national CBE summit to raise awareness
among stakeholders (e.g., educators, regulators,
employers, grant providers, and testing agencies)
Request for a copy of attenders’ current CBE
policies
◦ We all want to be able to list you as an Accepting Institution for
our exams!
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Keith Henry
The College Board
[email protected]
347-541-0927
Ruth Olmsted
Excelsior College
[email protected]
518-464-8603
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Giannina Rachetta
Prometric / DSST
[email protected]
443-455-8082
Susan Henken-Thielen
[email protected]
UExcel – Pearson VUE
952-681-3447