{"title":"Cognitive ability and performance in accounting students: The importance of data analytics assignments","authors":"Matthew J. Sargent , Bradley G. Winton","doi":"10.1016/j.jaccedu.2023.100870","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Cognitive ability plays a key role in the success of accounting professionals. The development of this cognitive ability (i.e., critical thinking, reflective judgment, problem-solving) in accountants falls heavily on higher education. To address the limited investigation of cognitive ability in accounting students, this research seeks to better understand cognitive development in accounting education via an empirical study. The study attempts to expand the current discussion of student cognitive ability by exploring the relationship between students’ cognitive ability and academic performance by developing hypotheses focused on both lower-level memorization and higher-level analytical assignments. Data from accounting students attending a major university in the United States support the positive link between measures of cognitive ability (i.e., reflective judgment) and both overall course grades and data analytics assignment grades. These results suggest that accounting education needs to go beyond testing within the multiple-choice paradigm and shift the focus to descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive data analytics assignments. Further, this research provides a path forward for educators attempting to prepare today’s graduating accounting students for their future careers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":35578,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Accounting Education","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Accounting Education","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0748575123000428","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Social Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Cognitive ability plays a key role in the success of accounting professionals. The development of this cognitive ability (i.e., critical thinking, reflective judgment, problem-solving) in accountants falls heavily on higher education. To address the limited investigation of cognitive ability in accounting students, this research seeks to better understand cognitive development in accounting education via an empirical study. The study attempts to expand the current discussion of student cognitive ability by exploring the relationship between students’ cognitive ability and academic performance by developing hypotheses focused on both lower-level memorization and higher-level analytical assignments. Data from accounting students attending a major university in the United States support the positive link between measures of cognitive ability (i.e., reflective judgment) and both overall course grades and data analytics assignment grades. These results suggest that accounting education needs to go beyond testing within the multiple-choice paradigm and shift the focus to descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, and prescriptive data analytics assignments. Further, this research provides a path forward for educators attempting to prepare today’s graduating accounting students for their future careers.
期刊介绍：
The Journal of Accounting Education (JAEd) is a refereed journal dedicated to promoting and publishing research on accounting education issues and to improving the quality of accounting education worldwide. The Journal provides a vehicle for making results of empirical studies available to educators and for exchanging ideas, instructional resources, and best practices that help improve accounting education. The Journal includes four sections: a Main Articles Section, a Teaching and Educational Notes Section, an Educational Case Section, and a Best Practices Section. Manuscripts published in the Main Articles Section generally present results of empirical studies, although non-empirical papers (such as policy-related or essay papers) are sometimes published in this section. Papers published in the Teaching and Educational Notes Section include short empirical pieces (e.g., replications) as well as instructional resources that are not properly categorized as cases, which are published in a separate Case Section. Note: as part of the Teaching Note accompany educational cases, authors must include implementation guidance (based on actual case usage) and evidence regarding the efficacy of the case vis-a-vis a listing of educational objectives associated with the case. To meet the efficacy requirement, authors must include direct assessment (e.g grades by case requirement/objective or pre-post tests). Although interesting and encouraged, student perceptions (surveys) are considered indirect assessment and do not meet the efficacy requirement. The case must have been used more than once in a course to avoid potential anomalies and to vet the case before submission. Authors may be asked to collect additional data, depending on course size/circumstances.
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