One important question every training manager has to ask is: How do you know? Is your training investment returning value? Are your technicians are gaining the knowledge they need from that training? How do you measure results in a meaningful way? There’s a simple answer: Testing. But there’s a catch—you have to have the right kind of testing.
According to a recent article by Dr. Shana K. Carpenter at the department of psychology at Iowa State University, many studies have shown that retrieving information during a test facilitates later memory for that information. The article abstract states “most research on this testing effect has focused on retention of information. Much less is known about the potential of testing to promote the application or transfer of learning…the small but growing number of studies on this topic have so far reported robust benefits of testing on transfer of learning.” Dr. Carpenter goes on to encourage future research that explores the potential of tests to promote, not just direct retention of information, but also the application of knowledge to new situations.
What these studies suggest is that testing seems to enhance the retention of studied information. In other words, people who study and test retain the information better than even those who continue to study while others are testing. While more work needs to be done, as Dr. Carpenter suggests, the preliminary data seems to support this additional benefit of testing, beyond simply confirming that an individual has improved his or her knowledge from the training they experience.
While these studies focused on the benefits of training in general, another study confirmed the benefit of one type of testing in particular—ASE certification. In his doctoral dissertation, Emmanuel Kolo, a PhD candidate at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, did research on whether or not certification from the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) improved job performance for those holding these credentials.
In Kolo’s research, descriptive survey methodology was used to gather information for 100 automotive technicians (50 ASE-certified and 50 non-certified technicians) located in 50 different work sites. Each site’s service manager was asked to complete a questionnaire and a rating scale for two technicians, one ASE certified and one non-certified. The questionnaire was designed using expert opinions of automotive service managers and community college automotive instructors in the Triad area of North Carolina. Overall, certified technicians had higher mean job performance ratings than non-certified technicians. The results also indicated that the number of technicians receiving customer complaints was directly dependent on certification status.
It should come as no surprise that the more qualified a technician is, the better job performance one can expect, but actually having some data and research to back up that expectation is how you know you’re getting a return on that training and certification testing investment. This is on top of other testing benefits, which include helping to identify strengths and weaknesses and technical knowledge gaps, as well as helping focus your training budget where it will do the most good. So the next time you ask yourself “How do I know?” don’t guess it—test it!
