The Impact of Online Testing Mode on Business Assessment Test Performance Before and During COVID

Authors

  • Xuan Huang California State University, Long Beach
  • Ping Lin California State University, Long Beach
  • Jasmine Yur-Austin California State University, Long Beach

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33423/jabe.v26i4.7179

Keywords:

business, economics, online testing, COVID, Business Assessment Test, gender gap, ethnicity gap

Abstract

We examined the impact of the COVID-19 on a Southern California public university’s the Business Assessment Test (BAT) scores. The analysis analyzed over 4,000 observations from Spring 2017 to Spring 2022. Results demonstrated a significant performance improvement during COVID, with the average BAT score increasing from 51.35 to 55.47. Furthermore, demographic factors like major, ethnicity, enrollment, gender, and English proficiency also influenced BAT scores. Finally, interaction effects, especially for quantitative test questions were significant between COVID and cs major, work, and language. The study provides insights for educators and policymakers regarding the implementation of online assessment format in the future.

References

Adedoyin, O.B., & Soykan, E. (2023). Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: The challenges and opportunities. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(2), 863–875.

Alessio, H.M., Malay, N., Maurer, K., Bailer, A.J., & Rubin, B. (2018). Interaction of proctoring and student major on online test performance. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 19(5).

Allen, J.S., & Bycio, P. (1997). An evaluation of the educational testing service major field achievement test in business. Journal of Accounting Education, 15(4), 503–514.

Alon, T., Doepke, M., Olmstead-Rumsey, J., & Tertilt, M. (2020). This time it’s different: The role of women’s employment in a pandemic recession (NBER Working Paper No. 27660). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Alpert, W.T., Couch, K.A., & Harmon, O.R. (2016). A randomized assessment of online learning. American Economic Review, 106(5), 378–382.

Arbaugh, J.B., Godfrey, M.R., Johnson, M., Pollack, B.L., Niendorf, B., & Wresch, W. (2009). Research in online and blended learning in the business disciplines: Key findings and possible future directions. The Internet and Higher Education, 12(2), 71–87.

Baber, H. (2021). Modelling the acceptance of e-learning during the pandemic of COVID-19-A study of South Korea. The International Journal of Management Education, 19(2), 100503.

Bagamery, B.D., Lasik, J.J., & Nixon, D.R. (2005). Determinants of success on the ETS Business Major Field Exam for students in an undergraduate multisite regional university business program. Journal of Education for Business, 81(1), 55–63.

Bean, D.F., & Bernardi, R.A. (2002). Performance on the Major Field Test in Business: The explanatory power of SAT scores and gender. Journal of Private Enterprise, 17(2), 172–178.

Beck, V. (2014). Testing a model to predict online cheating—Much ado about nothing. Active Learning in Higher Education, 15(1), 65–75.

Bettinger, E., Liu, J., & Loeb, S. (2016). Connections matter: How interactive peers affect students in online college courses. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 35(4), 932–954.

Bettinger, E.P., Fox, L., Loeb, S., & Taylor, E.S. (2017). Virtual classrooms: How online college courses affect student success. American Economic Review, 107(9), 2855–2875.

Bielinska-Kwapisz, A., & Brown, F.W. (2013). Differential gender performance on the major field test–business. Journal of Education for Business, 88(3), 159–166.

Black, H.T., & Duhon, D.L. (2003). Evaluating and improving student achievement in business programs: The effective use of standardized assessment tests. Journal of Education for Business, 79(2), 90–98.

Bratti, M., & Lippo, E. (2022). COVID-19 and the gender gap in university student performance (Working paper).

Brown, R., Buck, S., Kibler, M., Penn, P., & Zuo, N. (2021). Course-related student anxiety during Covid-19: A problem and some solutions. Applied Economics Teaching Resources, 3(1), 1–21.

Bycio, P., & Allen, J.S. (2007). Factors associated with performance on the Educational Testing Service (ETS) Major Field Achievement Test in Business (MFAT-B). Journal of Education for Business, 82(4), 196–201.

Carnevale, A.P., & Strohl, J. (2013). Separate & unequal: How higher education reinforces the intergenerational reproduction of white racial privilege. Washington, DC: Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University.

Casalone, G., Michelangeli, A., Östh, J., & Türk, U. (2023). The effect of lockdown on students’ performance: A comparative study between Italy, Sweden, and Turkey. Heliyon, 9(6), e16464.

Chen, C., Landa, S., Padilla, A., & Yur-Austin, J. (2021). Learners’ experience and needs in online environments: Adopting agility in teaching. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning, 14(1), 18–31.

Chen, C., Landa, S., Padilla, A., & Yur-Austin, J. (2022). Post-pandemic assessment of online teaching and learning in higher business education. International Journal of Educational Management, 36(6), 1065–1079.

Cleveland-Innes, M. (2020). Student demographic change and pedagogical issues in higher education. Inequality, innovation and reform in higher education: Challenges of migration and ageing populations, pp. 159–173.

Contreras, S., Badua, F., Chen, J.S., & Adrian, M. (2011). Documenting and explaining Major Field Test results among undergraduate students. Journal of Education for Business, 86(2), 64–70.

Cosgrove, S.B., & Olitsky, N.H. (2015). Knowledge retention, student learning, and blended course work: Evidence from principles of economics courses. Southern Economic Journal, 82(2), 556–579.

De Paola, M., Gioia, F., & Scoppa, V. (2022). Online teaching, procrastination and students’ achievement: Evidence from COVID-19 induced remote learning. IZA Discussion Papers, 15031. Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

Dolan, T.G. (2008). Minority students and college success: Challenges and solutions. The Education Digest, 73(7), 27.

Eimers, M.T., & Pike, G.R. (1997). Minority and nonminority adjustment to college: Differences or similarities? Research in Higher Education, 38(1), 77–97.

Elkins, K.M., & Murphy, K.L. (2016). Use of the online version of an ACS general chemistry exam: Evaluation of student performance and impact on the final exam. In Technology and Assessment Strategies for Improving Student Learning in Chemistry (pp. 211–223). American Chemical Society.

Elzainy, A., El Sadik, A., & Al Abdulmonem, W. (2020). Experience of e-learning and online assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic at the College of Medicine, Qassim University. Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 15(6), 456–462.

Engelhardt, B., Johnson, M., & Meder, M.E. (2021). Learning in the time of Covid-19: Some preliminary findings. International Review of Economics Education, 37, 100215.

Engelhardt, B., Johnson, M., & Siemers, S. (2023). Business school grades, assessment scores, and course withdrawals in the Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Education for Business, 98(4), 199–215.

Espinosa, L.L., Turk, J.M., Taylor, M., & Chessman, H.M. (2019). Race and ethnicity in higher education: A status report. Retrieved from https://www.equityinhighered.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Race-and-Ethnicity-in-Higher-Education.pdf

Etheridge, B., & Spantig, J. (2020). The gender gap in mental well-being during the Covid-19 outbreak: Evidence from the UK. ISER Working Paper Series.

Fairchild, C., & Hahn, W. (2020). Accounting and finance majors outperform other majors on the major field test in business and the Comprehensive Business Exam: An analysis of exam performance drivers. Journal of Education for Business, 95(6), 345–350.

Fask, A., Englander, F., & Wang, Z. (2014). Do online exams facilitate cheating? An experiment designed to separate possible cheating from the effect of the online test taking environment. Journal of Academic Ethics, 12(2), 101–112.

Fendler, R.J., Ruff, C., & Shrikhande, M. (2011). Online versus in-class teaching: Learning levels explain student performance. Journal of Financial Education, 37(2), 45–63.

Figlio, D., Rush, M., & Yin, L. (2013). Is it live or is it internet? Experimental estimates of the effects of online instruction on student learning. Journal of Labor Economics, 31(4), 763–784.

Graeber, D., Kritikos, A.S., & Seebauer, J. (2021). COVID-19: A crisis of the female self-employed. Journal of Population Economics, 34(4), 1141–1187.

Harmon, O.R., & Lambrinos, J. (2008). Are online exams an invitation to cheat? The Journal of Economic Education, 39(2), 116–125.

King, C.G., Guyette, Jr., R.W., & Piotrowski, C. (2009). Online exams and cheating: An empirical analysis of business students’ views. Journal of Educators Online, 6(1), 1–11.

Krieg, J.M., & Henson, S.E. (2016). The educational impact of online learning: How do university students perform in subsequent courses? Education Finance and Policy, 11(4), 426–448.

Lederer, A.M., Hoban, M.T., Lipson, S.K., Zhou, S., & Eisenberg, D. (2021). More than inconvenienced: The unique needs of US college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Education & Behavior, 48(1), 14–19.

Mason, P.M., Coleman, B.J., Steagall, J.W., Gallo, A.A., & Fabritius, M.M. (2011). The use of the ETS Major Field Test for assurance of business content learning: Assurance of waste? Journal of Education for Business, 86(2), 71–77.

Meelissen, M.R., & Drent, M. (2008). Gender differences in computer attitudes: Does the school matter? Computers in Human Behavior, 24(3), 969–985.

Mirchandani, D., Lynch, R., & Hamilton, D. (2001). Using the ETS major field test in business: Implications for assessment. Journal of Education for Business, 77(1), 51–56.

Molock, S.D., & Parchem, B. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 on college students from communities of color. Journal of American College Health, 70(8), 2399–2405.

Orlov, G., McKee, D., Berry, J., Boyle, A., DiCiccio, T., Ransom, T., . . . Stoye, J. (2021). Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: It is not who you teach, but how you teach. Economics Letters, 202, 109812.

Patterson, R.W., & Patterson, R.M. (2017, Spring). Computers and productivity: Evidence from laptop use in the college classroom. Economics of Education Review, 57, 66–79.

Perna, L.W., & Finney, J.E. (2014). The attainment agenda: State policy leadership in higher education. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Prisacari, A.A., Holme, T.A., & Danielson, J. (2017). Comparing student performance using computer and paper-based tests: Results from two studies in general chemistry. Journal of Chemical Education, 94(12), 1822–1830.

Prowse, R., Sherratt, F., Abizaid, A., Gabrys, R.L., Hellemans, K.G., Patterson, Z.R., & McQuaid, R.J. (2021). Coping with the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining gender differences in stress and mental health among university students. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 650759.

Rhodd, R.G., Schrouder, S.M., & Allen, M.T. (2009). Does the performance on principles of economics courses affect the overall academic success of undergraduate business majors? International Review of Economics Education, 8(1), 48–63.

Settlage, D.M., & Settlage, L.A. (2011). A statistical framework for assessment using the ETS Major Field Test in Business. Journal of Education for Business, 86(5), 274–278.

Suh, J. (2014). The effect of transfer credit hours on the student learning outcomes. ASBBS eJournal, 10(1), 123–130.

Witham, K., Malcom-Piqueux, L.E., Dowd, A.C., & Bensimon, E.M. (2015). America’s unmet promise: The imperative for equity in higher education. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Word, W.R., & Rook, S.P. (2012). Analyzing major field test in business assessment results. Journal of Business Administration Online, 11(1), 15–26.

Xu, D., & Jaggars, S.S. (2013). The impact of online learning on students’ course outcomes: Evidence from a large community and technical college system. Economics of Education Review, 37, 46–57.

Zamarro, G., & Prados, M.J. (2021). Gender differences in couples’ division of childcare, work and mental health during COVID-19. Review of Economics of the Household, 19(1), 11–40.

Downloads

Published

2024-08-19

How to Cite

Huang, X., Lin, P., & Yur-Austin, J. (2024). The Impact of Online Testing Mode on Business Assessment Test Performance Before and During COVID. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 26(4). https://doi.org/10.33423/jabe.v26i4.7179

Issue

Section

Articles