Updated April 26, 2010
NEW YORK — Two College Board programs have been named in a new study that found prior learning assessment (PLA) credit is a powerful tool in helping adults progress toward a degree. Students who gain PLA credits are much more likely to earn a bachelor’s or associate degree, and earn it faster, than non-PLA students, concluded the study conducted by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and funded by Lumina Foundation for Education.
Both the College Board’s College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®) and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) were cited as examples of methods that students employ to earn college credit. The study concluded that students with PLA credit tend to stay in college through graduation while doing so at a lower cost. The study, Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success, examined the records of more than 62,000 students ages 25 and above at 48 colleges and universities. After charting the students’ academic progress over the course of seven years, researchers found that PLA students had better academic outcomes than non-PLA adult students. Students with PLA credits also performed better across nearly all types of institutions and all demographics, earned more institutional credits, and took fewer remedial courses overall.*
College Board President Gaston Caperton said, “Programs that motivate and assist students — particularly adult students — as they pursue college degrees are essential in helping our country create the more highly educated workforce we need. At no time in our history has it been more important to nurture academic persistence and college success. Programs like CLEP have been leading prior learning assessment tools for decades, bolstering the confidence of millions of students and helping them achieve their academic dreams.”
CLEP is the most widely used, college-based credit-by-examination system in the United States and is also used by international students. By succeeding on a CLEP exam, individuals may earn between three and 12 college credits or course exemption at 2,900 institutions.
PLA is the process by which many colleges evaluate college-level knowledge and skills gained outside the classroom. PLA uses credit by examination, i.e., credit for learning acquired in extra-institutional settings and portfolio assessment. It is built on the principle that the awarding of academic credit for prior learning, based on demonstrated competencies and criterion-referenced assessments, is sound academic practice. Of the 62,475 students ages 25 or older who entered one of the 48 institutions in 2001, 15,594 earned some type of PLA credit by 2008, the study reported.
“The average time to degree decreased as the number of PLA credits earned increased. … When looking at various student subgroups, and at students from different types of institutions, we found PLA student graduation rates that were sometimes three or four times higher than non-PLA students,”** according to the study, which also found that standardized tests, such as CLEP, were the most commonly offered PLA option among participating institutions. In 2008-09, more than 200,000 CLEP exams were administered to military and nonmilitary candidates.
Economic factors, coupled with a call to return the United States to the top ranks of nations in the production of college graduates by 2020, have contributed to a growing awareness of the value of PLA in helping individuals reach their goal of a college degree.
“If we are to return the United States to educational preeminence, we will have to find better ways to serve the diverse needs of all students who seek a college degree,” Caperton said. “A nation’s success relies largely on the quality of its human resources and, without well-educated citizens, we will struggle economically and socially. I commend the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and Lumina Foundation for their efforts in raising awareness about this important subject.”
_____________________
*The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Fueling the Race to Postsecondary Success: A 48-Institution Study of Prior Learning Assessment and Adult Student Outcomes, 2010, pages 24, 32, 36.
* * Ibid, page 57.
About the College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®)
The College Board’s College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) offers students the opportunity to receive college credit for what they already know by earning qualifying scores on any of 33 examinations. For 40 years, CLEP examinations have tested the knowledge that students have acquired outside the college classroom. Candidates may have learned the material through independent study, an advanced high school course, on-the-job training, professional development, military service, cultural pursuits or internships. CLEP examinations comprise five subject areas usually covered in a two-year degree program or in the first two years of a four-year program. More than 2,900 accredited colleges and universities award credit for satisfactory scores on CLEP examinations.
The College Board
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,700 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college readiness, college admission, guidance, assessment, financial aid and enrollment. Among its widely recognized programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®), SpringBoard® and ACCUPLACER®. The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.
Contact
Sheila Jameson, The College Board, 212-713-8052, communications@collegeboard.org