High school students\u27 knowledge of college-level animal science: implications for articulation

The purpose of this study was to determine if high school agricultural education seniors in the Midwest United States possess the knowledge taught in college-level introductory animal science courses. The specific objectives of the study were to: (1) determine the college-level animal science knowledge of high school seniors in the Midwest United States; (2) determine which student characteristics had an effect on the students\u27 scores on the animal science examination and; (3) determine if characteristics of the student\u27s agriculture teacher had an effect on the students\u27 scores on the animal science exam;A 40 question multiple-choice exam covering college entry level animal science courses was utilized to gather data from 348 students from 43 high schools in the Midwest United States. The participants came from the states of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Demographic data was also collected from the students and their agricultural education teachers and was examined for its relationship to the students\u27 achievement on the exam;One-quarter of the students who participated in this study scored at least 70 percent on the animal science knowledge exam. Post high school educational plans and the number of semesters of agricultural education completed by the student were both found to be significantly related to achievement. Living location, level of interest in animal science, experience raising, showing and judging livestock, membership in the FFA and 4-H, and grade point average all had a significant effect on student performance. The only teacher variable found to effect student performance was the number of semesters of animal science the teacher had completed at the college level;This study clearly demonstrated that high school seniors in agricultural education programs that plan to attend a university immediately after graduation have the knowledge taught in entry level college animal science courses. This information should be used to persuade agricultural educators that agricultural articulation agreements between high schools and coLleges of agriculture within universities are needed and should be developed