Course-Embedded Outcomes Assessments Using The Wall Street Journal:

An Evaluation Rubric and Follow-up Survey

 

Michael J. Krause

Associate Professor of Accounting

Le Moyne College

1419 Salt Springs Road

Syracuse, NY 13214-1399

 

315-445-4426

 

krausemj@lemoyne.edu

 

INTRODUCTION                 

In this post-Enron era and its aftermath, employers value accounting graduates who possess skills beyond necessary technical accounting proficiency.  Even as the body of accounting knowledge grows, important skills such as critical thinking, writing, ethical awareness and, potentially, teamwork can be developed through a structured project that utilizes the insights into accounting practice generated regularly by independent knowledge repositories such as The Wall Street Journal.   Once in place, a Wall Street Journal or similar project provides the instructor an efficient means to witness, monitor and document student progress in developing skill-related learning outcomes. Additionally, the grading process provides the instructor an opportunity to learn about challenges facing accounting practitioners especially in this time of heightened ethical awareness and expansion of professional services. 

 

RELEVANT PRIOR RESEARCH

John M. Friedlan (1995) provides foundational justification for a project that utilizes professional source material such as The Wall Street Journal.  Friedlan postulates that students select career paths based upon perceived stereotypes.  At both the start and end of an introductory financial accounting course two different groups of students took the same survey dealing with skills and abilities needed by them in their accounting courses and needed by practicing accountants in the work place.  The groups differed based upon instructor’s teaching approach.  One group relied upon “prescriptive mini-cases” for class discussions and homework assignments.  The other group experienced the traditional lecture format. Unlike the lecture approach group, the mini-case group found in its syllabus the following course objectives, which appear relevant to a Wall Street Journal-like project:

    1. “To understand the purposes of accounting information in the economy.”

    2. “To develop writing and oral communication skills.”

The survey found that the mini-case group at the end of the year attached to accounting practice a greater importance to skills as listed in the above two points.  Friedlan infers that “accounting courses are vehicles for communicating information about the nature of the accounting profession”.

Ashbaugh and Johnstone (2000) also shared their experience with using cases in Intermediate Financial Accounting.  In their teaching notes the authors acknowledge the time pressures instructors face when designing curriculum.  As a solution to the challenge of balancing technical knowledge vs. professional skill development course objectives, Ashbaugh and Johnstone write “one strategy to resolve this dilemma is to develop course requirements that simultaneously require students to explore existing and emerging financial accounting issues while practicing their professional skills”.  The Wall Street Journal is an excellent place to “explore existing and emerging financial accounting issues” while practicing specifically writing and critical thinking skills.  The teaching note also includes an excellent rubric for evaluating the written assignment.  When developing an assessment strategy that distinctly addresses a course project’s objectives, a well-developed rubric serves as a critical linchpin.

 

Elliott and Jacobsen (2002) wrote a commentary in which they identified four economic paradigms.  They explained that we are now leaving the third paradigm “Industry” and entering into the fourth one “Information Economy.”  While the accountant served as the “information professional” for the “Industry” paradigm, the “Information Economy” paradigm calls for “the new information professional.”  The authors challenged academics to “play a great role in the accounting profession’s coming evolution.”  Specifically academics “can define a body of knowledge more suited to the realities of the marketplace, to the needs of decision makers, and to the future prospects of both”.  They caution academic or practicing professionals to “adapt accountancy’s body of knowledge to the modern information economy, or accounting’s place in it will decline.”  Without an appreciation for current events detailed by an agent like The Wall Street Journal, can today’s students be prepared to answer Elliott and Jacobsen’s significant challenge?

      

Scofield and Combes (1993) stress the importance of establishing the motivation for a writing assignment and refer to the AICPA and its Education Requirements for Entry into the Accounting Profession.  They further suggest using a checklist for grading.  Similarly, Stocks, Stoddard and Waters (1992) emphasize that students need to know the purpose behind a writing assignment and suggest, “good teachers are not known for the busywork they assign.”  They warn against the fallacy that effective writing assignments are limited to some sort of major research paper and suggest that students could write articles for college newspapers.  In addition Stocks et al contend that short written assignments do not have to be graded at all, merely “recorded on a completion basis.”

 

SEMESTER PROJECT USING THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

1.  You are to form teams of two.

2.  Beginning the week of January XX, 20XX you are to read The Wall Street Journal.

3.  The spring semester project will last 8 weeks.  Project ends March XX, 20XX.

4.  You are to select three or four articles per week (a minimum of 24 and a maximum of 32). You are to

     write what you learned from the article in relationship to what you are learning in this  Financial 

     Accounting course.  Only a few sentences necessary to document what you have learned.

5.  In your report, consecutively number articles starting with "1" and ending with “24“(maximum “32”). 

 6. Project will conclude with a SUMMARY (not to exceed two pages in length) that reports what you    

     learned about the accounting profession this semester from reading The Wall Street Journal. Also

     explain why you chose the articles that you did when many others were available.  (Submit two versions

     of your summary.  The first draft and a second shorter final version where you edited poor sentences and

     inconsequential thoughts.  Please indicate changes made to the first draft.)

7. You are to select articles dealing with the following topics:

       a.) SEC, government entity that regulates corporate securities sold in public markets.

       b.) FASB, private regulatory body that establishes accounting rules for USA.

      c.) National CPA firms (Ernst & Young; KPMG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; and Deloitte). 

          Other CPA firms are not likely to get press attention.

      d.) If you are unable to find articles for a week from items "a", “b" or "c" above, then you may use

           articles dealing with any type of government regulation.

8.  The project will be graded on a pass / fail basis.  However the top three teams per section will have their

     final grade improved to the next highest letter grade (for example a “C+” would become a “B-“).  Sorry

     this offer not available to those who would get a final grade of "A" due to the project.

9. Project must be submitted ON OR BEFORE APRIL XX, 20XX.         

      

EVALUATION RUBRIC

1. Project contained 24 - 32 articles over an eight week period………………….…1       2                            

2. Articles numbered consecutively per project instructions………..........................         2

3. Article summaries – quality of content and writing style……...............................1       2        3

4. Writing quality in overall summary………………………………………………1       2        3

5. Substance of insights found in overall summary…………………………….……1       2        3

6. Originality of insights found in overall summary….….………………….…..…...1      2        3

7. Overall summary rewrite included per project instructions………………….….….       2

8. Overall summary rewrite demonstrated improvement  in presentation style……....1      2

                                                            TOTAL SCORE (Max. 20 points)                 ____________

 

MEASUREMENTS TAKEN

For the Spring 2006 semester, a total of 668 articles analyzed from 25 projects submitted.  Articles classified using four “categories” and four “topics” as follows:

     Categories:                                Topics:

    A = SEC                                     E = Ethics

    B = FASB / PCAOB                  F = Proposals / Rulings

    C = CPA firms                          G = Enforcements / Lawsuits

    D = Other regulators                 H = Other Areas  

(Therefore classification “AF” = SEC proposals / rulings)

 

Students participated in an open-ended survey during the class immediately following project submission.  The survey’s only question asked “Based upon what you learned over the past fifteen (15) weeks as a result of working on the “Wall Street Journal Project”, list three skills or values that you consider to be very important in order to be an effective practicing accountant”.  (Study made at the end of the second of a two-course Intermediate Accounting sequence.  Fall 2005 semester students read The Wall Street Journal for seven weeks.  As a result students purchase a fifteen week subscription and used it over two semesters.)

 

OBSERVATIONS

For 25 projects submitted, median rubric score was 16 (mean 15.92, std. dev. 1.96).  One project got perfect score of 20.   The most observed category was (A) the SEC (see table 1).  The most observed topic was (G) Enforcements / Lawsuits (see table 2).  The classification used the most was (AF) SEC Proposals / Rulings (see table 3).  In the follow-up survey the necessary skill or value selected the most by students was Ethics (Honesty) closely followed by keeping up to date with current events and standard practices (see table 4). 

 

CONCLUSIONS

 39% of students surveyed identified ethics (honesty) as an important value to have in order to be an effective practicing accountant. This response consistent with finding that nearly 47% of The Wall Street Journal articles classified dealt with lawsuits or other enforcements.  37% of students surveyed also identified the need to keep up with (1) current events and (2) standard practices (GAAP) as important skills for practicing accountants.  These two responses conform to the fact that “AF” (SEC proposals and rulings) was the most used classification (nearly 23% of the study).   Despite only indirect mention within the list of project norms, communications skills chosen by nearly 24% of students surveyed.

 

The Wall Street Journal project thus reflects themes in established literature: (Ashbaugh and Johnstone 2000) an awareness of current emerging issues (such as ethical ones); (Stocks et. al. 1992) students learned the purpose of the writing assignment by identifying the importance of communication skills; and (Elliott and Jacobsen 2002) students expressed an understanding of the importance of staying current with the profession by understanding the realities of the marketplace and (Scofield and Combes 1993) educational requirements for entry into the profession.  As a result Wall Street Journal project successfully gave students a window to a laudatory stereotype of accounting practice (Friedlan 1995). The grading rubric alone was not sufficient to draw these conclusions.  But a rubric in conjunction with a follow-up survey provided the necessary data combination to obtaining insights into the extent of student comprehension of the importance and relevance of skills promoted by the assigned project.

 

 

REFERENCES

Ashbaugh, H., and K.M. Johnstone. 2000.  Developing Students’ Technical Knowledge and Professional      

          Skills:  A Sequence of Short Cases in Intermediate Accounting.  Issues in Accounting Education 15

           (1):  67 – 88.

Elliott, R.K., and P.D. Jacobson. 2002. The Evolution of the Knowledge Professional.  Accounting

          Horizons 16 (1):  69 – 80.

Friedlan, J.M. 1995.  The Effects of Different Teaching Approaches on Students’ Perceptions of the Skills

         Needed for Success in Accounting Courses and by Practicing Accountants.  Issues in Accounting

         Education 10 (1): 47 – 64.

Scofield, B.W., and L. Combes. 1993. Designing and Managing Meaningful Writing Assignments.  Issues

         in Accounting Education 8 (1): 71 – 85.

Stocks, K.D., T.D. Stoddard, and M.L. Waters. 1992.  Writing in the Accounting Curriculum:  Guidelines

         for Professors.  Issues in Accounting Education 7 (2): 193 – 204.

 

Table 1 – Categories Describing 668 Articles Analyzed         

Category Description

Category Label

Total Articles Observed - %

SEC

(A)

48.20%

Other Regulators

(D)

31.74%

CPA Firms

(C)

10.48%

FASB / PCAOB

(B)

9.58%

 

Table 2 – Topics Describing 668 Articles Analyzed

Topic Description

Topic Label

Total Articles Observed - %

Enforcements / Lawsuits

(G)

46.71%

Proposals / Rulings

(F)

33.23%

Other Areas

(H)

16.02%

Ethics

(E)

4.04%

 

 

Table 3 – In Analyzing 668 Articles, Classifications made using Categories and Topics Listed above

Classification Description

Classification Label

Total Articles Observed - %

SEC Proposals/Rulings

AF

22.75%

SEC Enforcements/Lawsuits

AG

20.81%

Other Regulators -Enforcements/Lawsuits

DG

15.72%

Other Regulators Other Areas

DH

10.78%

CPA Firms -Enforcements/Lawsuits

CG

7.04%

Various (9 other combinations)

various

22.90%

 

 

Table 4 –Follow-up Open-ended Survey Results – 38 Students Providing a Total of 114 Responses

Skill or Value Identified

Number of Responses Made

Students - %

Ethics (Honesty)

15 responses

39.47%

Keeping up to date

(current events)

14 responses

36.84%

Standard Practices (GAAP)

14 responses

36.84%

Communications Skills (Writing)

9 responses

23.68%