Institutions of higher education use the ETS® Major Field Tests to provide reliable documentation for accreditation, student achievement benchmarks and curricula improvement. However, programs requiring skills other than, or in addition to, academic skills (such as in the performing arts) require supplemental evaluations, such as recitals, portfolios or performance-based tasks.
Scores are provided for groups as small as five students. However, care must be taken when interpreting results from very small groups.
Group and Individual Assessment
The Major Field Tests provide information that institutions can use in curriculum evaluation, departmental self-studies and end-of-major outcomes assessment. The Major Field Tests summary data can be integral to a department’s or program’s self-evaluation. Test scores, however, should always be used in conjunction with other criteria when making decisions about programs or individuals. Departments and institutions are strongly cautioned against making the achievement of a certain score or percentile on the Major Field Tests a necessary condition for a student's graduation.
Confidentiality of Information
All Major Field Tests data are confidential and are reported only to the administering institution. Score information aggregated across institutions is provided as comparative data; however, individually identifiable information is available only to the administering institution. Information about an institution gathered through the testing program will not be released in any form attributable to or identifiable with the institution unless ETS has received written authorization to do so.
The confidentiality of student information and scores should be recognized and maintained. ETS suggests that institutions obtain a general written authorization from students stating that certain faculty members and others who are directly concerned with the students' education will have access to students' scores. ETS thoroughly maintains the same degree of confidentiality of student data as it does institutional data.
For more information about how the Major Field Tests can help your program, contact an ETS Advisor.