Page Description

The following page is a two column layout. Page sections are identified with headers. The footer contains update and contact information.

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  • Students

    Find out more about the characteristics of students who attend NC State.

  • Admissions

    See how many students applied, accepted, and enrolled at NC State. Learn more about students’ high school preparation and test scores.

  • College Costs & Financial Aid

    Learn about costs to attend NC State and how much financial aid is typically awarded.

  • College Cost Estimator

    Estimate your cost to attend NC State in a few simple steps.

  • Classes and Campus Life

    Learn more about professors, where students live, and campus safety at NC State.

  • Student Experiences

    Discover ways to be actively involved in your education at NC State – inside and outside the classroom.

  • Majors, Graduation and Next Steps

    See which majors are most popular at NC State and what recent graduates plan to do after earning their bachelor's degree.

  • Student Success & Progress

    Discover how many students who start at NC 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 NC State.

Student Learning at North Carolina 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.

As a pilot project, VSA participants measure critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and written communication using one of three tests. Following are the 2007-08 results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). Such general skills are applicable and useful for both career and personal success and are important outcomes of college regardless of a student’s major. The CLA measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning and written communication using two different tasks -- a performance task and an analytic writing task.

Learning Assessment Examples

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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.

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 at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1108
Senior Score: 1241
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1152
Senior Score: 1221

Analytic Writing Task Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in learning on the analytic writing task is at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 1125
Senior Score: 1228
CLA score range: 400 to no maximum score.

Average EEA scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 1149
Senior Score: 1170

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