Abstract
PurposeThis study, a post hoc observational one, attempted to determine if career and technical education (CTE) students in the state of Mississippi would academically benefit from taking multiple formative assessments in an online format prior to completing their summative exams. Most CTE students in the state of Mississippi are required to take an end-of-course exam cataloged as the Mississippi Career and Planning Assessment System (MS-CPAS). Previously, MS-CPAS test score results did not impact school-wide accountability scores, but in recent years, some of the guidelines were changed so that these summative test scores now play a vital role in school accountability and rankings.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines both formative and summative online exam scores for more than 13,000 students who have taken an MS-CPAS assessment in the 2018 and 2019 school years.FindingsThe results of this study revealed that there were significant differences in summative exam scores for students who took two online formative practice tests when compared to groups of students who did not take any formative practice tests. This study also illustrated a positive correlation between those students' final online practice test scores and their summative exam scores.Originality/valueThese results would prove very beneficial to both CTE teachers and directors in helping them understand the benefits of introducing formative practice tests into their programs to boost student understanding.
Highlights
Much like the rest of the world, the USA is constantly attempting to ensure students are progressing and mastering their course content, especially in environments where technology and blended learning methods can be implemented. These challenges existed long before Covid-19 swept across the globe, the pandemic has made many traditional face-to-face institutions understand the complex task that blended learning environments and open and distance learning (ODL) institutions have been operating within for years
As has been stated earlier in this paper, the Research and Curriculum Unit (RCU) was presented with several concerns leaders of career and technical centers in Mississippi had about achieving better outcomes on state-required online assessments in career and technical education (CTE) courses
In the 2017–2018 school year, the RCU built online formative practice tests for 41 of the 57 CTE courses offered in the state
Summary
Much like the rest of the world, the USA is constantly attempting to ensure students are progressing and mastering their course content, especially in environments where technology and blended learning methods can be implemented These challenges existed long before Covid-19 swept across the globe, the pandemic has made many traditional face-to-face institutions understand the complex task that blended learning environments and open and distance learning (ODL) institutions have been operating within for years. In the state of Mississippi, all career and technical education (CTE) courses have been structured for years with an optional hybrid online course management system. The use of this interface can allow teachers to use it for both online enrichment and remediation purposes. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http:// creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode
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