Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) is an assessment test administered by ACT international. The test is a series of six modules, which are developed to evaluate student’s performance. It helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the students and ensuring quality of education in an institution. It is not any admission or placement test; instead, it is used by colleges for internal assessment of their programs and progress of their students. The exam also helps in maintaining the record of student’s performance time to time on a national level. The test results are useful in maintaining the accreditation and accountability of the college and its educational programs.
Eligibility-
The exam is taken by undergraduate students. It is conducted by the college administration itself. Any student who is willing to take the test must contact his/her college management.
Test Overview-
There are six CAAP tests – Reading, writing skills, science, mathematics, critical thinking, and writing essay. The reading test is based on reasoning and referring skills. The writing skills test examines the usage, writing style, and mechanics of English language. The mathematical test is derived from the high school mathematics. It is focused on problem solving skills of the students, instead of merely applying mathematical formulas and expressions. The science test deals with the analysis, generalization, and understanding of scientific facts. The critical thinking test is an aptitude test, which is based on analysis, evaluation, and extension of given arguments. In the writing essay test, two independent essays on given situational prompts are to be written. The writing ability of the examinee is evaluated according to his/her performance in both, essay writing as well as writing skills test.
Test Format-
There are 36 multiple choice questions based on four passages in the reading section. The passages are taken from subjects like science, social science, humanities, and English literature. The writing skills test consists of 72 multiple choice questions. These questions are based on English grammar, punctuations, sentence structure, organization, strategy, and writing style.There are 35 multiple choice questions in the mathematical test. The content of this test is derived from mathematical branches such as pre-algebra, elementary algebra, coordinate geometry, college algebra, and trigonometry. The level of questions is that of the high school mathematics. There are 42 multiple choice questions in the science test. The content for this test is taken from natural sciences such as physics, chemistry, biology, general science, and physical science. Some scientific facts are given to the student in the form of passages followed by related questions. The critical thinking test has 32 multiple choice questions. The questions are the arguments which are to be analyzed and interpreted. Each test is allotted a time of 40 minutes. If all the tests are taken at once, the testing time sums up to 4 hours. The college may conduct all or some of the six test modules according to their requirements.
Marking Scheme-
All the multiple choice type tests are awarded scaled scores ranging from 40 to 80. The writing essay test has a score in range from 0 to 6 with half point increments. The essays are checked by two independent readers. In the report cards, total scores and two sub-scores for each test are given.
Schedule-
There are no fixed dates scheduled by the ACT for this exam. The dates for test are decided by the institutions who organize it.