judy wertheim, ed.d. vice president for higher education services

Exploring Prior Learning Assessment and Individual Learner Outcomes – Findings from a New CAEL Study

National Institute on the Assessment of Adult Learning

Judy Wertheim, Ed.D.Vice President for Higher Education Services

CAEL’s History with PLA

CAEL’s origins Workshops and conferences Trainings Studies on policies and practices Assessment Center

Benefits of PLA

What do (we think) we know?

PLA motivates students PLA saves time PLA saves money Portfolio PLA develops skills What else?

CAEL’s PLA Study

What we wanted to know:

Do adults who earn PLA credit have better graduation rates, compared with those who do not earn PLA credit?

Do they have better persistence? Do they earn their degrees in a shorter

period of time?

Who Participated

48 postsecondary institutions that:

• serve many adult learners• offered PLA credit earning options

between 2001 and 2008

The 48 Institutions

41 four-year, 7 two-year 22 public, 24 private not-for-profit, 2 private

for-profit Range in size from under 1,000 students to

more than 20,000 From all regions in the US, with heaviest

representation from Mid East, Great Lakes, Plains and Southeast

46 US institutions, 2 Canadian

What PLA Options Counted?

Standardized exams (e.g., CLEP, DSST, AP, Excelsior)

Externally-evaluated training program (e.g., ACE)

Institutional challenge exams Portfolio assessment And “other”

The Data

Student record data on 2001-2002 adult cohort

Information on PLA policies and practices, reasons for offering PLA, etc.

IPEDS institutional data

The PLA Programs

66% of the institutions had offered PLA since before 1980

64% offered five or more PLA methods 94% offered standardized exams, 88%

offered portfolio assessment

Top Reasons for Offering PLA

To provide a time-saving avenue for degree completion, 92%

To fulfill our mission to serve adult learners, 92% To encourage greater student persistence

towards a degree, 90% To recognize the value of learning that happens

outside of the classroom, 88% To provide a cost-effective avenue for degree

completion, 85% To remove barriers to education, 83% To offer a way for students to avoid class work

that would be redundant, 73%

The Students

62,475 total adult students in our sample (adult = age 25 or older)

15,594 (25%) had earned PLA credit between 2001 and 2008

PLA Students by Size of Institution

28% 33% 36%17% 23%

72% 67% 64%83% 77%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Under 1,000 1,000-4,999 5,000-9,999 10,000-19,999 20,000 or more

Earned PLA Credit Did not earn PLA credit

PLA Students by Level of Institution

4%

30%

96%

70%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

At least 2 but lessthan 4

Four or more years

Did not earn PLA credit

Earned PLA Credit

PLA Students by Control of Institution

12%

46%

17%

88%

54%

83%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

Private for prof it Private not-for-profit

Public

Earned PLA Credit Did not earn PLA credit

PLA and Student Demographics

Higher percent of male (29%) than female students (22%) earn PLA credit

Higher percent of white, non-Hispanic (33%) and Asian (40%), compared to black, non-Hispanic (24%) or Hispanic (15%)

Slightly higher rate of PLA earning among those aged 35-54, compared to younger and older groups

PLA and Academic Outcomes

Graduation rates Persistence

Time to degree


Graduation Rates

Graduation Rates

6%13%

15%

43%

78%

44%

1%

0%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Did not earn PLA credit(n=46,881)

Earned PLA credit(n=15,594)

Did not earn degree orcredential

Other

Earned Bachelor'sDegree

Earned Associate'sDegree

Graduation Rate by Institution Level

13%

53%

24%

55%

87%

47%

76%

45%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Two YearInstitution: Didnot earn PLA

credit(n=12,117)

Two YearInstitution:

Earned PLAcredit (n=524)

Four YearInstitution: Didnot earn PLA

credit(n=34,764)

Four YearInstitution:

Earned PLAcredit

(n=15,070)

Did not earn apostsecondarydegreeEarned apostsecondarydegree

Graduation Rate by Institution Control

23%

74%

43%

58%

14%

49%

77%

26%

57%42%

86%

51%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Private forprofit: Did not

earn PLAcredit

(n=6,155)

Private forprofit: Earned

PLA credit(n=858)

Private not-for-profit: Didnot earn PLA

credit(n=9,875)

Private not-for-profit:

Earned PLAcredit

(n=8,387)

Public: Did notearn PLA

credit(n=30,851)

Public: EarnedPLA credit(n=6,349)


Graduation Rate by Institution Size

42%

64%

44%

79%

21%

54%

58%

36%

56%

21%

79%

46%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Under 1000Students: Didnot earn PLAcredit (n=571)

Under 1000Students:

Earned PLAcredit (n=221)

1000-4,999Students: Didnot earn PLA

credit(n=4,773)

1000-4,999Students:

Earned PLAcredit

(n=2,379)

5,000 to 9,999Students: Didnot earn PLA

credit(n=5,900)

5,000 to 9,999Students:

Earned PLAcredit

(n=3,257)


Graduation Rate by Institution Size

19%

77%

18%

44%

81%

23%

82%

56%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

10,000-19,999Students: Did notearn PLA credit

(n=8,760)

10,000-19,999Students: Did notearn PLA credit

(n=1,762)

20,000 Or MoreStudents: Did notearn PLA credit

(n=26,877)

20,000 Or MoreStudents: Earned

PLA credit(n=7,975)


What We Now Can Say

Evidence shows that PLA students, on average, have higher rates of degree earning than do non-PLA students.

This is true at institutions of all sizes, levels and controls.


PLA, Graduation Rates & Measures of Academic Strength

12%

38%5%

20%

81%

39%

1%

2%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Took Remedial Courses,Non-PLA Student

(n=4,860)

Took Remedial Courses,PLA Student (n=299)

No Degree

Other

Bachelor's Degree

Associate's Degree

Analysis by Grade Point Averages

8% 4% 2%11%

3%

44%

28%

66%

35%

10%0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

PLAStudent

Non-PLA

Student

PLAStudent

Non-PLA

Student

PLAStudent

Non-PLA

Student

PLAStudent

Non-PLA

Student

PLAStudent

Non-PLA

Student

0 0 Under1.0

Under1.0

1.0-1.9 1.0-1.9 2.0-2.9 2.0-2.9 3.0 andhigher

3.0 andhigher

Cumulative GPA and PLA Status

No Degree earned

Degree earned

PLA and Retention

Persistence

Ways We Measured Persistence

Credit accumulation towards an associate’s or bachelor’s degree

Number of years in which the student earned credit between 2001-2002 and 2007-2008

Credit Accumulation, No Degree Earners

28%

12%

16%13%

9%

22%

1% 2%

7%

16%18%

56%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Earned few erthan 10% ofcredits for

degree

Earned 10-19% of credits

needed


needed


needed


needed

Earned 80% ormore of credits

needed

Did not earn PLA credit(n=23,101)Did earn PLA credit(n=1,800)

Total Credits Earned at Institution

Average for All PLA Students53.7 credits

Average for All Non-PLA Students

43.8 credits

Persistence – Number of Credit-Earning Years

60%

19%

9%6%

3% 3%

37%

23%

14%11%

7% 8%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

1 2 3 4 5 6

Number of Years in Which Credit Was Earned (May Be Non-Consecutive)


Persistence – Consecutive Credit-Earning Years

56%

18%

11%

7%4% 4%

21%

29%

23%

14%

7%6%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1 Year 2 Years 3 Years 4 Years 5 Years 6 Years


PLA and Degree Completion

Time to Degree

Time to Bachelor’s Degree

39.7

36.134.5

35.8

29.6

33.1

37.2

20.0

25.0

30.0

35.0

40.0

45.0

No PLACredit

(n=5,342)

1-6 PLAcredits(n=860)


13-24 PLAcredits

(n=1,170)



49 or morePLA credits

(n=219)

Mon

ths

to B

ache

lor's

Deg

ree

Time to Associate’s Degree

44.6

47.4

45.4

40.1

42.9

36.0

38.0

40.0

42.0

44.0

46.0

48.0

No PLA Credit(n=1,906)

1-6 PLA credits(n=230)




Mon

ths

to A

ssoc

iate

's D

egre

e

Time to Degree: Summary

PLA students earning bachelor’s degrees saved an average of between 2.5 and 10.1 months of time in earning their degrees, compared to non-PLA students earning degrees.

PLA earners with associate’s degrees earned their degrees between 1.5 and 4.5 months faster, on average, compared to non-PLA students earning degrees.

Do Institutional Policies Matter?

The greater the flexibility the student has for using the PLA credit, the better the academic outcomes.

Institutional Policies on PLA

PLA credit can be used to obtain advanced standing at the institution

PLA credit can be used to waive course prerequisites

PLA credit can be used to meet general education requirements

PLA credit can be used to meet program/major requirements

Additional Findings: Student Demographics

Gender Age

Race/ethnicity

Demographics: Gender

Both male and female students showed similar patterns of degree-earning, with PLA students of both genders earning degrees at a rate that was almost three times higher than the rate of non-PLA students.

Demographics: Gender

With even small numbers of PLA credits,female students’ time to degree decreasedmore than male students.

Demographics: Age

PLA earners in every age group had higher graduation rates than non-PLA students.

The difference in graduation rates was highest for those aged 55 and older.

Even the youngest learners (aged 25-34) with PLA credit had graduation rates that were more than twice those of non-PLA students in the same age group.

Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

For each racial/ethnic group, graduation rates for PLA students were higher than non-PLA students.

The most dramatic difference was for Hispanic students at the bachelor’s degree level. Hispanic PLA students earned bachelor’s degrees at a rate that was almost eight times higher than that of Hispanic non-PLA students

Demographics: Race/Ethnicity

For time to degree, we had sufficient data to analyze only black, Hispanic and white students at the bachelor’s level.

Decreases in average time to degree were apparent for all three PLA subgroups.

Black PLA students showed the most dramatic decreases in time to degree.

Summary – Graduation Rates

PLA students in this study had better graduation rates than non-PLA students:• Regardless of institutional size, level (two-year

or four-year) or control (private for-profit, non-profit, or public)

• Regardless of the individual student’s academic ability or grade point average

• Regardless of the individual student’s age, gender, or race/ethnicity

Summary - Persistence

PLA students have higher rates of persistence compared with non-PLA students.• In terms of credit accumulation/progress

towards the degree• In terms of number of years of credit-earning

Summary – Time to Degree

PLA students earned bachelor’s degrees in a shorter periods of time compared with non-PLA students – a difference of between 2.5 and 10.1 months, depending upon the number of PLA credits earned.

PLA earners with associate’s degrees saved an average of between 1.5 and 4.5 months of time in earning their degrees, compared to non-PLA students earning associate’s degrees.

Want to Read More about This?

Visit the CAEL Web site: www.cael.org

Executive summary:www.cael.org/pdf/PLA_Executive-Summary.pdf

Full report:www.cael.org/pdf/PLA_Fueling-the-Race.pdf

http://www.cael.org/

judy wertheim, ed.d. vice president for higher education services

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