Most MBA programs require an exit exam to gauge students' comprehensive competency in the field of business management. The MFT-MBA began being offered in 2002. It was developed nationally by leading educators to assess the skills of graduating MBA students. It is also used as a tool to compare business programs across the United States. ETS issues an updated test every 3–4 years in attempt to ensure high content validity. The most recent test forms are 4BMF, 4FMF, and 4JMF.
Content
The MFT-MBA is based on MBA core curriculum. Unlike tests that are not aligned to anything but their own curriculum, the MFT-MBA emphasizes content validity. In order to display normativity and ensure a consensus of what best reflects core curriculum, the content is constructed using results of a national curriculum survey. According to ETS, content experts from a diverse representation of higher education institutions participate in this survey. Basing the exam on core curriculum makes it a level playing field exam, giving it meaningful results and enabling it to measure reasoning ability. The test contains 124 multiple-choice questions. There are approximately 32 management questions, 31 marketing questions, 33 finance questions, and 28 managerial accounting questions. Half of the questions require the strategic integration of two or more subject areas. In addition to factual knowledge, the test evaluates the student's abilities to interpret materials, understand relationships, and analyze and solve problems. The Major Field Test for MBA can only be taken once. The amount of time allotted for taking the test is three hours. It is taken on a computer. All exams are given at proctored facilities. Test takers are provided with scratch paper and pencils, but calculators are not permitted. All test questions present four answer options to choose from, only one of which is correct.
Scoring
A national scoring guide is issued annually. Scores range from 220-300. According to ETS, the overall scaled score on the MFT-MBA measures critical thinking and reasoning within the domain of standard MBA curriculum. The chart on the right provides a scoring summary at approximately every 10th percentile. Form 4BMF was last used in 2009 making the 2009 scoring guide 4BMF's last scoring guide. Form 4FMF was last used in 2013 making the 2013 scoring guide 4FMF's last scoring guide. The 2015 scoring guide is the most up to date guide for 4JMF.
Recognition of top performers
Several universities such as Rutgers, LSU, and the University of Nebraska, Omaha give awards to recognize their students whom received top scores on the MFT-MBA. The honors society uses the MFT-MBA to recognize the top 10% of MBAs in the United States.
