International Comparison of a Performance-Based Assessment in Higher Education

In late 2012, the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research Systems (ANVUR) and the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) collaborated on two experimental studies of an assessment of generic learning outcomes of tertiary students. The instrument (CLA+ International/TECO) was administered to students graduating from Italian universities. Their results and outcomes were benchmarked against graduating university students in the United States. This chapter presents results from the two studies and discusses implications and future investigations and demonstrates the feasibility of internationally assessing generic learning outcomes.