This fall and spring, NDSU will administer the Collegiate Learning Assessment+ to first-year students and seniors, respectively. The performance-based assessment measures the development of critical thinking and writing skills.

NDSU will use information from the assessment to enhance teaching and learning. “We will compare freshmen and senior scores and then compare NDSU scores to other schools to determine how well we are teaching critical thinking and writing skills,” said Mark Hanson, research analyst in NDSU’s Office of Institutional Research and Analysis.

NDSU administered the assessment in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

A random sample of 200 first-year students has registered for the fall administration. A random sample of seniors will be invited to participate during spring semester 2014.

The assessment is offered by the Council for Aid to Education, a New York-based nonprofit organization committed to helping educational institutions measure and improve learning outcomes for their students.

NDSU is recognized as one of the nation’s top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.