An Examination of the Readiness of Students for Intermediate Accounting

• In Event: Teaching, Learning, and Curriculum 1

Abstract

The Intermediate Accounting course experiences high failure rates. Despite receiving passing grades in the introductory accounting course, instructors have found that many students do not have the required knowledge from the introductory course to be successful in the Intermediate Accounting course. Educators need information about the readiness of the entering Intermediate Accounting course student to improve the success rate. The main purpose of the study was to (1) to determine if student demographic variables have an effect on readiness for the Intermediate Accounting course (2) to determine if a student’s learning style preference has an effect on readiness for the Intermediate Accounting course.
The participants were students enrolled in the Intermediate Accounting course at a northeast public university in the fall 2012 semester. Early in the semester in a single class session, students were asked to complete a multi-part survey instrument: a demographic survey, a Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinesthetic (VARK) learning style preference questionnaire and an Intermediate Accounting Readiness Exam. Two research questions and six hypotheses were tested using SPSS software. The statistical analysis included Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Pearson Correlation Test.
The study found that the only two demographic variables had a significant effect on readiness for the Intermediate Accounting course: a student’s overall GPA and the school or the type of school where the student took the introductory accounting course. A student’s learning style preference had no effect on readiness for the Intermediate Accounting course.

Authors

• Stanley Chu, Touro College

• Frimette Kass-Shraibman, Brooklyn College

• Harvey Man, Borough of Manhattan Community College

• Chayim Herskowitz, Touro College