Introduction

Many accounting instructors would be interested in knowing which of the various study activities have the most impact on a student's performance in accounting courses. In fact, many students in my classes have asked me why performance on examinations does not improve relative to the increase in study time. Some students work full-time off campus or have other responsibilities that prevent them from devoting as much time to their studies as others. The worst-case scenario, which applies in many cases, is that students do not read ahead, attend class regularly or complete homework assignments in a timely manner. When an examination is scheduled, these students spend time reading the chapter, usually for the first time, outlining the chapter material by hand, and attempting to catch up on the homework at the last minute. It may not be the amount of time a student spends studying the course material but the quality of that study time (i.e., what the student is actually doing during the study period) that makes the difference in student performance.

Based on this analysis, I decided to investigate the relationship between various study activities, or student effort, and student performance on examinations in intermediate accounting. However, the investigation utilizes a sample of only 44 students. Due to the small sample size, this article is intended as a model for further research on this topic.

The Investigation

I used the students in my class as research subjects. Student performance was represented by the average of the grades received by students on four examinations. Effort was defined as time spent by students on the various study activities as explained below:

The class attendance variable was developed from daily attendance checks. To measure the other student activities, students were given course credit to complete a daily journal that summarized all effort expended toward the course. As part of the homework requirement, students were to summarize time spent each day of the week reading ahead, doing homework and other out-of-class assignments, and studying for the course just prior to an examination (i.e., cramming for an examination). Instructions on how to complete the journal correctly were included in the course syllabus. The sample for the study consisted of 44 students that received a perfect score on the journal assignment.1

Based on similar studies of student performance, measures for aptitude were included in the study for control purposes. The aptitude measures included GPA, a measure of overall aptitude, and the grade received in the first accounting course, a measure of accounting aptitude. These measures were determined by reference to student records. A measure of hours worked off campus each week was provided by the students.

To analyze the data on the basis of student aptitude, the sample was divided into high GPA and low GPA groups. The high GPA group consisted of students with a GPA of 2.75 or better on a 4.0 scale. The low GPA group consisted of students with a GPA of less than 2.75. Of the 44 students in the sample, 23 fell into the high GPA group and 21 fell into the low-GPA group.

High GPA versus Low GPA Groups

The two groups were significantly different with respect to the aptitude and performance measures. The average GPA was 3.35 for the high GPA group and 2.19 for the low GPA group. High GPA students received an average grade of B+ in the first accounting course compared to an average grade of C for low GPA students. High GPA students scored higher than low GPA students on the examinations in the course. High GPA students averaged 69 on the examinations compared to an average of 49 for low GPA students.

High aptitude students worked off campus less and expended more effort each week in every category than low aptitude students. On average, low GPA students worked off campus 27 hours each week and spent 7.39 hours toward the course. On the other hand, high GPA students worked an average of 19 hours each week and spent 10.50 hours toward the course. The difference between the two groups was significant in every effort category including reading ahead, attending class, doing homework, and cramming before an examination.

Student Aptitude and Examination Performance

The aptitude measures, GPA and the grade in the first accounting course, were more closely related to performance on examinations in intermediate accounting than any of the effort measures. However, as mentioned, high aptitude students spent more time toward the course than low aptitude students in each effort category. In fact, the overall aptitude variable was highly correlated with all of the effort variables. This indicates that the higher a student's GPA, i.e., overall aptitude, the more likely the student will be to put forth serious effort in intermediate accounting. In other words, aptitude and effort are highly related variables. Because of this association, the relationship between effort and performance may be captured by the relationship between aptitude and performance.

Student Effort and Examination Performance

After controlling for aptitude, two categories of effort showed a significant positive relationship with performance on examinations: attending class and completing accounting homework assignments. One should note that both of these activities are advance preparation activities. Cramming for an examination, which is not an advance preparation activity, appeared to have a negative effect on performance. Reading ahead did not appear to be related to performance.

Summary and Conclusions

This research showed that student aptitude is more positively associated with student performance in intermediate accounting than student effort. However, effort appeared to be highly related to aptitude as high aptitude students consistently put forth more effort in the course than low aptitude students. Of the types of study activities, the advance preparation activities appeared most important. For example, attending class and completing homework assignments were positively associated with performance in the course, while studying just prior to an examination, or cramming, was found to have a negative effect on performance. The negative effect of cramming was present for all students, but it was stronger for low aptitude students. Furthermore, the number of hours worked off campus each week was found to have a negative impact on effort.

This analysis suggests that accounting instructors should advise low performing students to adjust their study habits to include more high quality, advance preparation activities. Students seeking to improve performance in accounting should attempt to work less off campus, if possible, and engage more in activities that help them prepare gradually for the course. This may include: 1) attending class regularly, participating in the class discussion and obtaining an understanding of what to study, 2) reading and understanding the textbook and classroom illustrations, and 3) completing homework assignments regularly and in a timely manner. These students should not postpone the major portion of study until just before an examination (i.e., cramming). This activity appears to have a negative effect on performance in intermediate accounting.

Accounting instructors can assist students in making these adjustments by making assignments in the course that require them to engage more in activities that promote advance preparation. Such an assignment could be in the form of homework, or it could be one that requires students to read, such as a short quiz on the lecture material before the lecture takes place. These assignments help students improve the quality of their study activities.

A limitation of this study is that it utilizes a sample size of only 44 students. The purpose of the investigation was to build a model that can serve as a basis for further research on accounting student performance. A replication of this study using a larger sample size is warranted.