The CAAP is a standardized test measuring general education outcomes. It is used widely by institutions for a lot of purposes from evaluating statewide higher education performance to looking at individual student development. For states emphasizing public responsibility, the CAAP has been used to track whole systems over a period of time, using test results as a standard for progress.

Universities, state schools, two- and four-year colleges, and business schools make use of the CAAP to set up student learning gains, evaluate the improvement of student abilities over time, and study how this growth compares to students at other colleges. This information may be used for a lot of purposes, for example documenting student performance, evaluating institutional efficiency, analyzing program accomplishment, or identifying when involvement is warranted. Institutions can decide which module to use based on what question is being asked.

The six independent modules of the CAAP comprise reading, writing skills, writing essay, mathematics, science, and critical thinking. Any or all of these modules can be administered in a number of study designs, as well as a one-time-only test or a relation of the CAAP with earlier pre-college tests. In addition, ACT gives a wealth of information and support as regards testing administration, score interpretation, study design, and so on. The modules of the CAAP aim to address a student’s aptitude to reason efficiently and incorporate concepts, and consequently could be helpful in evaluating a number of features of a liberal arts education. Definitely, when evaluating liberal arts outcomes, other instruments together with qualitative tools should be employed to better evaluate the overall institutional culture.

Generally, the CAAP is a dependable tool proposing institutions flexibility and convenience. On the other hand, the test has several shortcomings. Since the CAAP is a paper-and-pencil administration, the level of a student's motivation can have an effect on test results. CAAP addresses this issue by including questions that ask about motivation. In the same way, the ability to customize the CAAP from school to school introduces a combination of sampling scenarios. Whereas one institution may require students to take the test or propose motivations for them to partake, other colleges may sample a much smaller, more select group of their student bodies.