Ball State Univ accounting study: accountants are kinda dumb

[MattTheSkywalker]

Well, this comes as no surprise to me, but Ball State has shown that bright 5th graders can learn accounting just about as well as college kids.


Gifted and talented fifth graders are able to understand basic accounting nearly as well as college sophomores, says a case study from Ball State University.

Sixteen fifth-grade students scored almost as well as their college counterparts on a 15-question exam after both groups had completed an introductory accounting course, said Gwen White, a Ball State accounting professor.

The test included questions about definitions of assets, liabilities, owners’ equity, net income, net loss and retained earnings. The average fifth grader correctly answered 13 of 15 questions while the typical college student missed only one question.

“This was not a difficult test, but these were very bright fifth graders who understood basic algebra as well as how to deal with fractions and percentages,” White said. “They had sufficient math and reading skills to grasp the basic concepts. The students demonstrated the necessary maturity and enthusiasm for learning an abstract discipline.”

During the course, fifth graders learned about business transactions, financial statements and business decision-making.

White said the fifth graders showed a great deal of enthusiasm during the course. However, when asked what they liked least about learning accounting, the youngsters responded in a manner often observed in young adults taking college accounting.

“They did not like tedium, frustration and being confused,” she said. “Fears of ‘messing up’ and that accounting was difficult to master also were evident.”

White said exposing students to accounting while in elementary school could lead them to study the field when attending college, boosting the number of potential professionals.

W.T. Wrege, a Ball State accounting professor, was the co-author of the study, which was published earlier this year in the “Journal of Accounting Education.”

White, a certified public accountant, joined the Ball State faculty in 1978. Her research interests are auditor judgment and gender bias. White’s research has been published in “The Journal of Business and Psychology,” “Journal of Auditing: Practice and Theory,” “International Journal of Auditing” and “Journal of Vocational Behavior.”

She may be reached at (765) 285-5116 or gwhite@bsu.edu.

[Dr. John Zoidberg]

we shouldn't spend education money on these kids, give more to the retards!1

[SamTheEagle]

The retards you speak of are accounting majors, right?

[douglan]

what do you expect? ball state sucks.

[MattTheSkywalker]

Originally Posted by douglan

what do you expect? ball state sucks.

hahah true, except for david letterman, he is rather successful

[notreallyme]

The ability to 'think' is not taught at school.

Therefore why should it take a 5th grader any longer to learn a completely new subject than it does a college kid?

Interesting study idea.
Would college kids be better at memorizing a completely topic than 5th graders?

[Loner]

They took a group of what were described as well above average fifth graders and pitted them against average students at a college that I suspect isn't anywhere near the top on a very basic course. Given how many people go to college who shouldn't have been let out of high school, I'm not surprised the results were close.

[Westley]

1 In what way does this imply anything about accountants?
2 Measuring it as # correct on an exam easy enough for everybody to be close to 10% is pretty bad. If college students missed 1/15 and fifth graders missed 2/15, they did twice as bad.

[Harry]

This seems like a good idea for a TV show....oh wait...

[douglan]

Originally Posted by MattTheSkywalker

hahah true, except for david letterman, he is rather successful

[tongue in cheek]

your definition of success differs from mine, MTS. after all, I'm a product of our broken-down public education system I went to Miami University (big rival is Ball State), so my degree says that I must always hate Ball State. Luckily, this is not a difficult task.

[/tongue in cheek]