Determinants of Student Performance in an Undergraduate Financial Accounting Class

Donna Ramirez Harrington, Kumuduni Kulasekera, Rick Bates and Maury E. Bredahl

No 34117, Working Papers from University of Guelph, Department of Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics

Abstract: This study investigates the effects of class size, high school accounting, aptitude and attitude on learning , measured by the difference between post-test and pre-test scores, in an undergraduate financial accounting class, after controlling for students' major and semester level. Statistical analysis showed that scores of students in small classes improved by 48%, while scores of students in the large classes improved by 6% percent, implying a decline in learning by 88% by shifting to larger classes. High school accounting was found to improve pre- and post-test scores but the improvement on their post-test scores was significantly lower, implying a diminishing effect of high school accounting on performance as the complexity of the course material increases. We also found that midterm grade (aptitude) and changes in perception about the relevance of the class on business-related issues (attitude) motivate learning.

Keywords: Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 25
Date: 2006
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uguewp:34117

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.34117

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