Major Field Test Design and Format

Developed by educators in the field

The ETS Major Field Tests are developed in partnership with experienced teaching faculty members representing all of the relevant areas of a discipline. They participate in determining test specifications, test questions and types of scores reported. Each question is put through rigorous sensitivity and reliability testing by ETS assessment experts. Every effort is made to include questions that assess the most common and important topics and skills as supported by feedback from our curriculum surveys from institutions around the United States

In addition to factual knowledge, the tests evaluate students’ abilities to analyze and solve problems, understand relationships and interpret material.

To ensure fairness and content relevance, the tests are revised approximately every 3 to 5 years.

Test format

The Major Field Tests offer greater flexibility to meet your testing needs. You choose when, where and how you administer the assessment, based on your institution’s scheduling and staffing. And you can choose to add up to 50 locally authored questions to gain even more insight.