Setting the P.A.C.E. for Student Success in Intermediate Accounting

Abstract

The Department of Accounting at our university implemented a Principles of Accounting Competency Exam (PACE) in an attempt to stem the high failure and withdrawal rates in Intermediate Accounting I. To support the PACE, we created a menu of study alternatives for students needing remedial instruction. During the period under review, we observed evidence of improvement in student success in Intermediate I. This discussion describes the PACE and its implementation during Fall 2006, but more importantly, it describes the supplemental measures we have taken to prepare students for the PACE.

Is Intelligent Online Tutoring Software Useful in Refreshing Financial Accounting Knowledge?

“…Schmidt and Wartick (2013) also find that students who take introductory accounting at a two-year institution tend to earn lower grades in intermediate accounting, a finding consistent with earlier studies (Turner, Holmes, & Wiggins, 1997). Sanders and Willis (2009) suggests that two-year colleges do not prepare students for content and rigor of intermediate accounting. The accounting education literature also finds that poor performance in an introductory course is related to poor performance in an intermediate course (Jackson, 2014;Schmidt & Wartick, 2013).…”

“…Sanders and Willis (2009) discuss a remedial program that has helped students overcome these disadvantages. Although the program includes the use of an online tutoring system, it is combined with instructor-led resources, making it difficult to determine the role technology has in student improvement.…”

“…Prior studies (Conway, Gardiner, Perfect, Anderson, & Cohen, 1997;Sanders & Willis, 2009;Schmidt & Wartick, 2013) find that the number of terms since a student completed introductory financial accounting, the number of times they had to repeat the course, and if they completed the class in a nonuniversity setting are negatively related to intermediate accounting performance. This paper confirms these earlier findings.…”

“…Third, universities recognize the uneven preparation of students entering intermediate accounting (Schmidt & Wartick, 2013). In some cases an entrance exam is used to screen students (Sanders & Willis, 2009), but there are no studies to date of the role technology can play in preparing students for the exam or class. Finally, many studies on the effectiveness of OTS compare one school term, year, or class with another (Baxter & Thibodeau, 2011;Johnson et al, 2009;Potter & Johnston, 2006), but these short-term studies may be limited by the "novelty effect" (Sansone, Fraughton, Zachary, Butner, & Heiner, 2011), where the results are difficult to disentangle from the heightened interest students have in a technology recently introduced into the curriculum.…”

Accounting education literature review (2006–2009)

“…Notably, faculty members report a dependency upon textbook authors to provide the required course development tools. Sanders and Willis (2009) report the implementation of a principles-of-accounting competency exam created in response to the high dropout and failure rate in intermediate accounting I. All students are required to take the competency exam before beginning intermediate accounting I, and the exam is graded pass/fail.…”