New for 2009, the NATEF End Of Program testing program has been enhanced to become the National Automotive Student Skills Standards Assessment. With the new program comes a new partnership among AYES, NATEF and SkillsUSA to ensure that this is the best national student skills assessment the industry has to offer.

The exams are developed by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and will have the same content, length, and passing standards as the previous NATEF EOP exams. Future development and maintenance of the item pools will include the support and participation of all three partner organizations.

Here are some of the anticipated program enhancements for spring 2009:

• A common registration portal will be used by all three of the partnering organizations. This will reduce redundant data entry and save the instructor valuable time.
• One simple $15 fee per student allows the student to take as many of the assessment tests for their discipline as they need within a single testing window.
• Students will earn a Student Achievement Certificate for each test passed.
• Student Achievement Certificates will be printed locally by the school and signed by the instructor or administrator. This means that certificates can be printed when earned - no waiting.
• Both the fall and spring testing windows will be adjusted to provide more flexibility in scheduling.
• The school will be able to download test results for importing into spreadsheets or reports.
• An optional free-form data field will be included in the registration process to allow for a state or locally issued student ID to be added to the student's EOP data. This will allow the school to electronically match a student's test results to other data the school collects on that student.
• Although the origins of this assessment program predate the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006, it is a natural fit to meet Sec. 113 (b)(2)(A)(ii) and Sec. 113 (b)(2)(B)(ii) of this legislation for Accountability.

Please check back for update information as available. Additionally, NATEF will provide a mailing to all schools within the coming weeks with additional details about getting started with the new system.

Program Overview

The Student Skills Standards Assessment tests are designed to measure students' knowledge of course content and learning outcomes within an automotive training program. The tests include a combination of theory and vehicle service related questions, and are developed using the NATEF task list. The tests provide instructors and administrators with impartial feedback on how well students are learning and comprehending the materials presented throughout the curriculum. The invaluable information provided to students and school personnel makes this test beneficial to any school. It is available to any entry-level Automobile or Collision Repair and Refinish training program regardless of ASE/NATEF certification status.

These tests are appropriate for students who have nearly completed an individual automotive training course or who are preparing to graduate from a technician-training program. Schools choose which tests in the series to administer to each student. Testing is available in both fall and spring to ensure maximum usefulness.

Click here to download the test specifications and task list for the automobile test series in pdf format.

Click here to download the test specifications and task list for the collision repair and refinish test series in pdf format.

A Word About End of Program Test Development

All test questions are written by technicians and secondary and post-secondary automotive instructors at workshops facilitated by NATEF and ASE. Each question is reviewed and statistically validated before it is approved for use on the test.

Try some sample questions.