[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/aquin_dan.jpg” caption=”Commerce student Daniel Aquin is the third student in the history of DeGroote to achieve a perfect score in the Major Field Test.”]Undergraduate commerce and MBA students at the DeGroote School of Business continue to score among the best business schools in North America in a recent Major Field Test (MFT) conducted by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) — the largest educational assessment organization in the world.

DeGroote's undergraduates scored in the 95th percentile while the MBAs scored in the 90th percentile in the test conducted in April. This was the eighth consecutive time the undergraduate program at DeGroote has scored in the 95th percentile in North America. As well, commerce student Daniel Aquin became only the third student in the history of DeGroote to receive a perfect score.

“This is wonderful news for our school and clear evidence of the strong teaching culture and quality of curriculum we possess here at DeGroote,” said Paul Bates, dean of the DeGroote School of Business. “We aim to prepare all of our students well for the future and that is why we place a great emphasis on developing their knowledge and skills.”

Aquin is confident his education from DeGroote has prepared him for his chosen career in finance or accounting.

“The large variety of courses we must take in the commerce program really help to build a well-rounded understanding of all aspects of a business,” he said. “The large amount of presentations and team-work required also help develop key skills in business&. I thought I had done well on [the MFT] and was surprised how much I remembered from past courses, but had no idea I would score perfect.”

The assessment of university education quality requires the testing of outcomes from graduating students. The MFT program is an innovative battery of tests used by schools and departments at more than 700 colleges and universities globally to measure student academic achievement and growth.

In addition to Aquin's perfect performance, undergraduate students David Campbell and Elliott Stone both scored 199 out of 200, while MBA student Takuma McNie scored 290 out of 300.