READINESS IS MORE THAN CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
Content knowledge is no longer sufficient for college and career success.
CAE’s performance-based assessments authentically measure the college and career readiness skills of critical thinking, problem solving, and effective written communication. These are the skills most in demand by higher education institutions and employers.
Assessing Essential College and Career Skills Since 2002
Content knowledge is no longer sufficient for college and career success.
CAE’s performance-based assessments, CLA+, CCRA+, and SSA+, authentically measure the college and career readiness skills of critical thinking, problem solving, and effective written communication, providing students and educators with valid and reliable insights into students’ readiness for their next step. These are the skills most in demand by higher education institutions and employers.
Our assessments provide a more complete picture of students’ readiness for their next step and serve as an effective instrument for diagnosing students’ strengths and opportunities for improvement to increase future success.
A mission-driven, non-profit organization, CAE also partners with national, state, and district clients to design innovative custom assessments that measure the constructs most important to students, educators, and institutions.
CAE’s data show that 60% of students entering college are not proficient in these skills and that these skills are predictive of positive outcomes in college and career.
Authentic Assessments through Performance Tasks
CAE’s assessments leverage a performance-task model to uniquely measure students’ ability to think critically, solve problems, and effectively communicate.
- Students are placed in real-world scenarios with engaging tasks;
- With authentic documents from more- and less-credible sources that contain related and conflicting information;
- Are presented with open-ended problems with no single correct solution;
- Requiring students to apply knowledge and produce a response.
Are Your Students Ready for Their Next Step?
CAE’s assessments and services help students, educators, and institutions answer critical questions including:
How ready are our students for their next step?
Where do our students need developmental support?
How much are our students growing from year to year?
How well is our institution developing essential skills in our students?
How much has our new curriculum improved our students’ essential skills?
How can I incorporate custom performance-based assessment in my institution?
Valid and Reliable Assessments and Insights to Answer Your Questions
CAE’s assessments are delivered online through CAE’s integrated Next Step platform. The assessments can be used in class, with remote proctoring, or any combination. Results can be analyzed at multiple levels to answer your critical questions.
Student
Diagnostic
Measure students’ readiness for their next step and identify approaches to improve readiness
Institution
Assessment
Measure value-added and/or effect size by comparing the performance of two student cohorts
Custom
Assessments
Measure the most important constructs through innovative performance-based assessments
Insights for Students & Institutions
Student reports provide actionable insights to support student growth and improvement.
Micro-credentials provide assessment-based evidence of proficiency.
Student Diagnostic Report
Micro-credential
Institution Report
Sub-score Analysis
Institution reports help identify gaps in curricula and/or developmental support, measure value-added, and assess program effectiveness.
Details on rubrics and mastery levels are provided to identify next steps for improvement.
CAE, a non-profit provider of performance-based assessments, authentically measures students’ essential college and career skills.
Success-Focused
Measure critical thinking, problem solving, and effective written communication skills to create a more complete picture of students’ readiness for college and career.
Evidence-Based
Leverage reliable and valid assessments aligned to current assessment models, education research, and best practices and backed by 20+ years of research and use.
Detailed Insights
Identify how to best support students during their academic journey and increase success in their next step through institution and student reports.
Full-Service
Access a full range of assessment services including custom performance-based assessment solutions, psychometrics, and more.