2005-2006 ETS Major Field Test Results

 

The Major Field Tests program from the Electronic Testing Service (ETS) is an innovative battery of outcomes assessments that provide valid and reliable measures of instruction as a way to evaluate program performance and to support curriculum development.  These two-hour multiple-choice tests are designed to measure basic knowledge and mastery of concepts and principles expected of students completing an academic major.  The tests evaluate a student’s ability to analyze and solve problems, understand relationships and interpret specific material.

The Major Field Tests are objective, end-of-program tests in major disciplines and offer useful information in measuring the progress of students and evaluating curriculums.  In addition, each of the tests contains questions designed as assessment indicators for specific aspects of the program.  This allows programs to identify specific areas that are performing well or need improvement.

Mountain State University (MSU) chose to use the Major Field Tests as an additional assessment measure because the tests are nationally administered and independently scored.  This provides a direct measure that can be compared to national averages to help evaluate student learning and programs offered here at MSU and to provide feedback for continuous improvement.

Of the Major Field Tests offered by ETS there are currently only three that match programs offered by MSU.  These programs were Business, Computer Science and Criminal Justice.  MSU began administering the Major Field Tests to graduating seniors in these three programs at the end of the 2004-2005 academic year. The results of the 2005-2006 administration of the ETS Major Field Test for the three areas are provided for your review. Those assessment indicators where MSU performed better than the national average are highlighted in green, those where MSU fell below the national average are highlighted in red and there are no highlighted figures where MSU equaled the national average. Although the results of the 2005-2006 administration of the tests are provided, the 2004-2005 results are listed for your comparison.

Business

The 2005-2006 graduating senior’s results of the Business program test showed that MSU students had a mean score of 144 out of 200 which was slightly below the national mean of 152.  This is slightly below the 2004-2005 mean score of 147. MSU’s overall test scores ranged from 130 (1%) to 162 (75%).  The test scores consist of eight major assessment indicators which include accounting, economics, management, quantitative business analysis, finance, marketing, legal and social environment and international issues.  Overall, MSU students scored slightly below the national average in seven out of the eight areas.  The management indicator showed MSU students scoring 1% above the national average where MSU students scored 58% while the national average was 57%.   The remaining seven indicators are ranked based on the percent below the national average.  The second place indicator was international issues with MSU scores at 41% and the national average at 44%.  In third place were the legal and social environment at 47% while the national average was 50%.  Finance was in fourth place with 29% versus 36% for the national.  Fifth place was marketing with 39% and the national was 47%.  In sixth place was economics with 33% while the national was 43%.  Seventh place was the accounting indicator with 35% while the national was 44%.   The lowest area was the quantitative business analysis with MSU scores at 45% while the national average was 57%.

• 2005-2006 Business Chart

• 2004-2005 Business Chart

Computer Science

The 2005-2006 graduating senior’s results of the Computer Science program test showed that MSU students had a mean score of 135 out of 200 which was slightly below the national mean of 149.  Overall test scores ranged from 124 (1%) to 157 (65%).  The scores consisted of three major assessment indicators which include programming fundamentals, computer organization / architecture / operating systems and algorithms / theory / computer math.  MSU students scored lower in all three assessment indicators. MSU students scored 40% on the programming fundamentals while the national average was 56%. The computer organization / architecture / operating systems indicator showed MSU students averaging 17% while the national average was 35%.  The final indicator, algorithms / theory / computer math, had MSU student average of 29% while the national average was 45%.

• 2005-2006 Computer Science Chart

• 2004-2005 Computer Science Chart

Criminal Justice

The 2005-2006 graduating senior’s results of the Criminal Justice program test showed that MSU students had a mean score of 152 out of 200 which was slightly higher than the national mean of 151.  This is a significant improvement over the previous year where MSU students fell 10 points below the national mean score.  Overall test scores ranged from 129 (5%) to 170 (85%).  The scores consisted of seven major assessment indicators which include theory, the law, law enforcement, corrections, the court system, critical think and research methodology and statistics.  Overall, MSU students scored slightly higher than the national average in four out of the seven areas.  Students scored 3% higher in the law, 3% higher in law enforcement, 2% higher in corrections and 1% higher in critical thinking. Students scored equal to the national average in the court but fell below the national average by 1% in theory and 2% in research methodology and statistics.