Statistical Validation of Exit Examination Results

Abstract

In an effort to validate teaching effectiveness within the College of Business at Lamar University a standardized achievement test, the Business Major Field Test, offered by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, NJ, was administered to a relatively large sample (69) of the class of graduating seniors in the spring semester of 2001.  The overall results placed the average of Lamar’s graduating business majors at approximately the 70^th percentile among the institutions taking the exam.  Considering the popularly held opinion that the entering freshman class at Lamar ranks closer to the 40^th percentile of those taking the SAT, these results seemed almost too good to be true.  This study is designed to describe our testing methods, validate or invalidate this “value-added” result, and discuss our future plans.