Prior Learning Assessment

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Prior Learning AssessmentPLA 101
CAEL
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• 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.

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• Four Approaches to PLA
• Nationally standardized exams in specified
  disciplines
• Challenge exams for local courses
• Evaluated non-college programs
• Individualized assessments

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• Types of Standardized Exams
• AP Exams
• CLEP Tests
• Excelsior College Exams
• DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST)

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• 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 them

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• 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

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• 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 them

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• More on DANTES Subject Standardized Tests (DSST)
• Developed for the military, available to
  civilians
• Nearly 40 exams in many areas
• Run by Chauncey Group Intl of ETS
• 53 within CAEL survey use them

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• Challenge exams of local courses
• At institutional discretion, using
  locally-developed tests/exams
• May be final exams of courses
• 63 within CAEL survey use them

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• 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

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• 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

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• Data source
• Prior Learning Assessment A Guidebook to
  American Institutional Practices (1999) published
  by CAEL.

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• CAELs 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

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• 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

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• Why Portfolio PLA? 3 MYTHS
• PLA depresses enrollment.
• Tests are rigorous but portfolio PLA is not.
• Only weak or lazy students want PLA.

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• 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.

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• 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

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• Why PLA? PLA Performance
• Portfolio PLA students tend to show higher
  cumulative GPAs
• Studies in 1992 _at_ UMUC, and in 2003 among 1600
  students in 4 Illinois public universities.

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• 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.

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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

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• Activity Discussion
• Read the Sally S Scenario. What questions
  about PLA does this scenario raise for you and
  your colleagues?

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• How Do Adults Learn?
• The (David) Kolb Model of Experiential Learning
• Source Experiential Learning Experience as the
  Source of Learning Development, Prentice-Hall,
  1984

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• The Kolb Model 4 Dimensions
• Concrete Experience
• Reflective Observation
• Abstract Conceptualization
• Active Experimentation

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• Kolb Learning Style
• Concrete Experience
• Feelers favor sensation
• Reflective observation
• Observers favor watching

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• Kolb Learning Style
• Abstract Conceptualization
• Thinkers favor abstraction
• Active Experimentation
• Doers favor activity

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• Kolb people grow develop
• Affectively to sense/feel
• Symbolically to think
• Behaviorally to act
• Perceptually to observe

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• Possible Portfolio Components
• Title Page / Summary
• Statement of Credit Requested
• Personal Goals Statement
• Academic Degree Plan
• Resume

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• Possible Portfolio Components
• List of Learning Competencies
• Learning Autobiography
• Academic Transcripts
• Certificated Learning
• Other Evidence of Learning

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• Possible Portfolio Components
• Bibliography of Readings
• Course Descriptions
• Letters of Recommendation

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• 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?

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• 6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning
• 1 - Identification Review experience to
  identify potentially creditable learning.
• Faculty guide adults, often through a portfolio
  development course.

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• 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.

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• 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!

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• 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.

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• 6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning
• 4 - Measurement Determine the degree and level
  of competence achieved.
• Faculty must do this step.

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

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• 6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning
• 5 - Evaluation Determine the credit
  equivalency.
• Faculty must do this step.

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• 6 Steps to Assess Prior Learning
• 6 - Transcription Prepare a useful record of
  the results.
• Task of administration, with the advice of
  appropriate faculty.

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• 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

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• 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

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• What is College Level Learning?
• Process Features
• Collaboration between faculty student,
  between students
• Self-reflection on personal values
• Scholarship research basis

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• What is College Level Learning?
• Performance Domains
• Communication
• Computation
• Critical Thinking
• Aesthetic Ethical Awareness
• Lifelong Learning

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• 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

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• ACTIVITY A Portfolio Excerpt
• Lets look at a segment of an actual student
  portfolio to test the preceding concepts

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• Quality Assurance Principles
• Source Assessing Learning Standards,
  Principles, Procedures, by Urban Whitaker.
  CAEL 1989
• (each followed by examples of malpractice of the
  principle..)

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

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• Malpractice on Principle 1
• Credit for time served
• Example Following WWI WWII, GIs received 9 to
  15 units for a year and a day of enlisted or
  commissioned duty.

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

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• Malpractice on Principle 2
• Credit for progress or effort rather than
  accomplishment.
• Example The A for effort despite lack of
  competence.

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

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• Malpractice on Principle 3
• Credit for incomplete learning, missing
  theoretical or practical components.
• Question Would you trust pilots or physicians
  who lacked either component?

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

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• 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.

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

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• 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.

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

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

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

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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?!

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• 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.

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• Malpractice on Principle 10
• Assessment program stagnation.
• Without maintenance, even strong structures will
  weaken and eventually collapse.

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• 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?

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• CAELs recommended development process for
  implementing portfolio PLA
• Build awareness legitimacy
• Design an appropriate program
• Implement it with training
• Troubleshoot startup problems

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• 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

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• CAELs resources to help your school start
  portfolio PLA
• Publications
• Public PLA workshops
• OnLine PLA certification
• On-campus consulting help

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• For More Information
• WWW.CAEL.ORG