Major Field Test In Business Research Articles

Interpreting Standardized Assessment Test Scores and Setting Performance Goals in the Context of Student Characteristics: The Case of the Major Field Test in Business

The Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B), a standardized assessment test of business knowledge among undergraduate business seniors, is widely used to measure student achievement. The Educational Testing Service, publisher of the assessment, provides data that allow institutions to compare their own MFT-B performance to national norms, but that procedure fails to take the characteristics of institutional student cohorts into account. Using empirical methods, the authors describe and test a procedure to set a priori goals that take dispositional factors, most notably ACT scores, into account. This procedure enables interpretation of the MFT-B in relation to expectations.

Linking Course-Embedded Assessment Measures and Performance on the Educational Testing Service Major Field Test in Business

Assessment of the business curriculum and its learning goals and objectives has become a major field of interest for business schools. The exploratory results of the authors’ model using a sample of 173 students show robust support for the hypothesis that high marks in course-embedded assessment on business-specific analytical skills positively affect performance on overall business disciplinary competence proxy by results in the Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B) examination, while controlling for SAT score, GPA, major, and gender differences. This particular result provides useful and relevant information to advance the assessment process in schools of business as a valuable tool to enhance the overall learning experience. The authors also found a marked difference across majors.

Is Higher Better? Determinants and Comparisons of Performance on the Major Field Test in Business

Student performance on the Major Field Achievement Test in Business is an important benchmark for college of business programs. The authors’ results indicate that such benchmarking can only be meaningful if certain student characteristics are taken into account. The differences in achievement between cohorts are explored in detail by separating the effect of high-achieving students choosing certain majors (characteristics effect) from the effect of the returns on these characteristics that students realize during their college educational experience (return effect).

A Statistical Framework for Assessment Using the ETS Major Field Test in Business

The Major Field Test in Business (MFT-B) is a widely used end-of-program assessment tool; however, several challenges arise when using the test in this capacity. Changing student demographics and the lack of a statistical framework are two of the most vexing issues confronting educators when using the MFT-B for programmatic assessment. The authors extended the literature by developing an analytical framework that controls for student demographics and provides statistically valid evidence of outcomes assessment. Application of the model to a sample data set revealed that the model fit well (R 2 = .517) and provides a valid framework for the exploration of outcomes assessment.

USING THE ETS MAJOR FIELD TEST IN BUSINESS TO COMPARE ONLINE AND CLASSROOM STUDENT LEARNING

This study demonstrates a method of assessment for an online program of instruction. Based on data taken over the last five years, the study compares the score on the major field test in business (MFT-B) from ETS with the number of core courses taken online, the number of online courses taken at this university, age and the student’s GPA in the core courses. No literature was found demonstrating the use of the MFT-B for comparing online and classroom instruction. The data shows that there is no difference in the outcomes for students in online courses and classroom courses. The study will be repeated annually for assessment reporting. Additionally, our study found higher withdrawal rates for online courses when compared to classroom courses.

Evaluating and Improving Student Achievement in Business Programs: The Effective Use of Standardized Assessment Tests

Having made “continuous improvement” the theme of its accreditation process a decade ago, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is poised to make “assurance of learning” the current focus of the faculty/student exchange. In this article, the authors discuss how to use standardized assessment tests appropriately and constructively for compliance with this requirement. They provide an overview of accountability in higher education and then focus on assessing student achievement and development. They use results from the Educational Testing Service's Major Field Test in Business to illustrate verification of test reliability and validity. Finally, they suggest ways that standardized test results can be used for evaluating and enhancing student performance.

Using the ETS Major Field Test in Business: Implications for Assessment

In this study, the authors examinied two methods of measuring student learning outcomes—GPA and performance on a standardized test (Major Field Test in Business). Clear differences were found between the two outcome measures, underscoring the need for a multifaceted approach to assessing learning outcomes, especially at the program level. Though the GPA had strong internal validity and reflected student performance in the context of the curricular and pedagogical priorities of an institution, standardized test scores provided greater external validity and allowed institutions to quickly establish a baseline and benchmark against national norms.

What Do College Seniors Know About Economics?

If college seniors who have taken an economics course were asked questions that test their knowledge of basic economics, what would the results show? Would seniors give correct answers to most questions, or would they show significant deficiencies? Students are exposed to many ideas during their undergraduate education, so one would not expect them to retain all of the economic content they were taught, but one would hope that they would retain at least a knowledge of basic economics. This study investigates whether that is the case. Two data sources were used for the study. The first was from a Gallup survey of a national random sample of 300 college seniors (Walstad and Max Larsen, 1992). The survey includes 15 multiple-choice questions testing economic knowledge. The responses from that survey can be separated according to whether students took economics. The second data set came from the economics scores for 12,854 students who took the Major Field Test in Business II (MFTB) sponsored by Higher Education Assessment of the Educational Testing Service (ETS, 1998). The MFTB covers content typically taught in an undergraduate program in business and contains about 20 multiple-choice questions on basic economics. Although there are differences between the two data sets, we viewed this as an advantage for our study. Our hypothesis is that most college seniors would show relatively limited knowledge of basic economics, no matter what questions were asked or how the data were collected. We expected students responding to the Gallup questions to score higher than students taking the MFTB because the Gallup questions were simpler and designed for telephone in-