International assessments in higher education are especially challenging because differences across countries (e.g., educational systems, SES) increase the complexity of testing. This becomes even more challenging when using performance-based assessments, which are becoming more prominent in assessment programs. ANVUR collaborated with the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) to adapt, translate, administer, and score the CLA+, a performance-based assessment of critical-thinking and written communication skills, to Italian university students. The objectives of this study were to see if it was feasible to assess Italian students' skills, to conduct a cross-country comparison of Italians and Americans, and to validate the importance of these skills in the labor market. In 2015, students at participating institutions completed a translated and adapted version of the CLA+ that included the Performance Task (PT) "Life Expectancy" and one of two sets of 25 selected-response questions (SRQs). The CLA+ for the ANVUR project was administered between May and July 2015, and a total of 6,268 students across 23 institutions participated in the administration. Out of the 6,268 assessments administered, the CLA+ was completed by 6,245 students. Student responses are measured on three subscales: analysis and problem-solving, writing effectiveness, and writing mechanics. The SRQs measure students' analysis and problem-solving skills on three subscales: Scientific and Quantitative Reasoning, Critical Reading and Evaluation, and Critique an Argument. Overall, results from this study indicate that the CLA+ measures the critical-thinking and written-communication skills of the Italian students. The reliability scores for each of the sections on the Italian version of CLA+ are comparable to the American version, and although overall reliability was low at the individual student level, this is not the case at the institutional level. The results from this study also indicate that Italian students' performance were comparable to that of their American counterparts. [Paper presented at the 2016 American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.]