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College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST)
Assessment Home | CLAST HomeImportant News
Effective July 1, 2009, the College-Level Academic Skills Test (CLAST) will no longer be administered. Recent Florida legislation, Senate Bill 1676, repealed the use of the CLAST to measure the College-Level Academic Skills (CLAS) set and as a degree requirement for those undergraduates seeking associate in arts (AA), bachelor of arts (BA), or bachelor of science (BS) degree in Florida’s public colleges and universities.All scores earned on the CLAST prior to July 1, 2009, will still be valid.
Students who still need to meet CLAS requirements after July 1, 2009, will still have opportunities other than the CLAST exam to do so. Please check your college’s or university’s Web site for more information on how to meet the CLAS requirements.
The Need for CLAST Scores
Since August 1, 1984, students in public institutions in Florida have been required to demonstrate achievement of the college-level communication and mathematics skills set forth in State Board of Education (SBE) Rule 6A-10.316, FAC, for (1) the award of an associate in arts degree and (2) admission to upper-division status in a state university. Prior to January 1, 1996, the CLAST testing program was the only procedure used by the State of Florida to assess students' achievement of these skills. The 1997 Legislature modified Section 240.107, F.S.(now 1008.29), which permits Florida students to demonstrate achievement of college-level skills via alternate methods. Rule 6A-10.0311, FAC, lists the standardized test scores or the grade point average in specified courses required for alternatives to CLAST. The phrase "meeting college-level academic skills requirements" means either that the student earned passing scores on the CLAST or the student met one of the alternative methods.Degree Requirement
The need to satisfy the college-level academic skills requirements is prescribed by SBE Rules 6A-10.0312 and 6A-10.0314, FAC. Students in Florida's public postsecondary institutions are required to meet the college-level academic skills requirements before they may be awarded the associate in arts degree or be admitted to upper-division status at a state university. At state universities, students transferring from out of state who already have an A.A. degree must meet the college-level academic skills requirements to maintain enrollment and to be awarded a baccalaureate degree. Students who received an A.A. degree prior to September 1, 1982, and were admitted to upper-division status in a Florida public university before August 1, 1984, are required to present CLAST scores but are not required to meet the college-level academic skills requirements as a condition for receiving a baccalaureate degree. However, students who were awarded an A.A. degree prior to September 1, 1982, but were not admitted to an upper-division instructional program in a Florida public university prior to August 1, 1984, are required to meet the college-level academic skills requirements as a condition for admission to upper-division status and receipt of a baccalaureate degree.Students seeking an undergraduate degree from a Florida institution who already have a baccalaureate degree are exempt from meeting the college-level academic skills requirements.
Responsibility for using the college-level academic skills requirements to satisfy the statutory requirements is vested by law in the respective community colleges and state universities. Although the exercise of that responsibility is governed by the Florida Statutes and SBE Rules, the respective institution determines whether any given student needs to demonstrate attainment of college-level academic skills. Any appeal by a student of a decision involving such use of his or her CLAST scores must be made through the process established by the institution for student appeals of other academic matters.
Students who have satisfied the college-level academic skills requirements on three of the four subtests and are otherwise eligible may be enrolled in state universities for up to 36 additional semester credits of upper-division coursework before they are required to pass the fourth subtest.
An independent institution may make the CLAST available to its students either by meeting the criteria for an approved testing center or by making arrangements with an approved testing center. Rule 6A-10.0317, FAC, provides that private institutions may require CLAST scores as a condition for award of a degree.