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ERIC Number: EJ1149722
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0965-948X
EISSN: N/A
The Validity of the Major Field Test in Psychology as a Programme Assessment Tool
Gallagher, Shawn P.; Cook, Shaun P.
Psychology Teaching Review, v19 n2 p59-72 Aut 2013
The Major Field Test in Psychology (MFT) is a standardised test designed to assess subject mastery at the conclusion of an undergraduate career. Eighty-one graduating majors completed the MFT and 56 of them also took a multiple-choice exam of questions drawn randomly from an introductory psychology test bank. Like the MFT, the constructed exam was divided into four subscales. A second sample of 29 novice majors also completed the MFT. For the advanced majors, total and subscale scores from the two tests were highly correlated (all p<0.01). Advanced majors scored above national norms and were significantly better than the novices. However, few courses could be linked to performance in the associated MFT subscales but general academic indices like grade point average were highly predictive. The novice MFT scores were similar to the norms for advanced majors. We conclude that the MFT measures broad, basic understanding, not advanced mastery.
British Psychological Society, Division for Teachers & Researchers in Psychology. St Andrews House, 48 Princess Road East, Leicester, LE1 7DR, UK. Tel: +44-1162-529551; Fax: +44-1162-271314; e-mail: directmail@bps.org.uk; Web site: http://www.bps.org.uk/ptr
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Pennsylvania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A