San Francisco State University College Portrait
San Francisco State University1600 Holloway Avenue San Francisco, CA 94132
415-338-1111
Learn More
- Students
Find out more about the characteristics of students who attend SF State.
- Admissions
See how many students applied, accepted, and enrolled at SF State. Learn more about students’ high school preparation and test scores.
- College Costs & Financial Aid
Learn about costs to attend SF State and how much financial aid is typically awarded.
- College Cost Estimator
Estimate your cost to attend SF State in a few simple steps.
- Classes and Campus Life
Learn more about professors, where students live, and campus safety at SF State.
- Student Experiences
Discover ways to be actively involved in your education at SF State – inside and outside the classroom.
- Majors, Graduation and Next Steps
See which majors are most popular at SF State and what recent graduates plan to do after earning their bachelor's degree.
- Student Success & Progress
Discover how many students who start at SF State finish their bachelor's degree and how long it takes.
- Student Learning Outcomes
Figure out what learning gains to expect in critical thinking, writing, and other important subjects at SF State.
- Public Good
Student Learning at San Francisco State University
All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.
Academic Program Assessment was institutionalized as an academic priority at SF State with the 1999 Academic Senate policy on program assessment. In 2002 the Senate policy was revised to integrate four separate Academic Senate documents regarding assessment. Since that time, departments have developed assessment plans, and they report to the Office of Academic Planning and Educational Effectiveness regularly on progress toward enacting their plans. Each academic college has a faculty assessment coordinator who works directly with faculty on developing and implementing departmental assessment of student learning. Student learning results are reported in periodic departmental program reviews.
Learning Assessment Examples
Pilot Project to Measure Core Learning Outcomes
Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.
2010 - 11 Results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment
The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication using a performance task and an analytic writing task. The scores from the tasks are reported separately below.
Test Administration Process
Test Information
Performance Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students
The increase in learning on the performance task is well above what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.
Freshman Score: 1041
Senior Score: 1097
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.
Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 973
Senior Score: 929
Analytic Writing Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students
The increase in learning on the analytic writing task is well above what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.
Freshman Score: 1046
Senior Score: 1141
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.
Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 973
Senior Score: 929