Analyzing Educational Testing Service Graduate Major Field Test Results

Abstract

The Educational Testing Service (ETS) created the Graduate Major Field Test in Business (GMFT-B) for MBA students. This test is administered to all MBA classes at Jacksonville University for the purpose of measuring student academic achievement and growth, as well as to assess educational outcomes. The test is given in the capstone course, Business Strategy and Policy, typically taken by students at the end of their MBA program. It provides valuable feedback to each student as to their standing with regard to students across the nation. A total of six years of data (2006 to 2011) was collected for analysis of these test scores. For the first half of this time period, Jacksonville University was in candidacy for accreditation by the Association for the Advancement of Colleges and Schools of Business (AACSB), and for the time period 2009-2011 it was an AACSB accredited institution. Executive MBA, evening MBA (also known as flex MBA) and day-time (accelerated) MBA classes took the exam over that time period. It was determined that the executive MBA student grades were significantly better than their counterparts in the evening (flex) and day-time (accelerated) MBA students at Jacksonville University. It was also found that there was no significant difference in student performance during the first half (AACSB candidacy) and second half (AACSB accreditation) of the time period under investigation.