PurposeThis study, a post hoc observational one, attempted to determine if career and technical education (CTE) students in the state of Mississippi would academically benefit from taking multiple formative assessments in an online format prior to completing their summative exams. Most CTE students in the state of Mississippi are required to take an end-of-course exam cataloged as the Mississippi Career and Planning Assessment System (MS-CPAS). Previously, MS-CPAS test score results did not impact school-wide accountability scores, but in recent years, some of the guidelines were changed so that these summative test scores now play a vital role in school accountability and rankings.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines both formative and summative online exam scores for more than 13,000 students who have taken an MS-CPAS assessment in the 2018 and 2019 school years.FindingsThe results of this study revealed that there were significant differences in summative exam scores for students who took two online formative practice tests when compared to groups of students who did not take any formative practice tests. This study also illustrated a positive correlation between those students' final online practice test scores and their summative exam scores.Originality/valueThese results would prove very beneficial to both CTE teachers and directors in helping them understand the benefits of introducing formative practice tests into their programs to boost student understanding.
This study, a post hoc observational one, attempted to understand how to continue promoting equitable opportunities in career and technical education (CTE) for the state of Mississippi. We explored the enrollment patterns of Mississippi secondary CTE students by career cluster and career pathways associated with STEM careers over the last five years. Additionally, the enrollment patterns were compared to statewide enrollment patterns by gender and ethnicity. Also, we examined the proficiency results of students on the statewide CTE assessment by gender and ethnicity. Our secondary CTE student enrollment results are like previous reports of underrepresentation of nontraditional students in STEM-related career fields. Additionally, similar results were found when looking at the statewide CTE assessment data. However, there is an indication that CTE and non-CTE leaders effectively recruit underrepresented populations to STEM-related career pathways in the state of Mississippi, but more work is needed to allow access to all students.
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