CORRELATION OF STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND PERFORMANCE IN QUALIFYING EXAMINATION IN ACCOUNTING Gualberto A. Magdaraog Jr. Angelica A.

Magdaraog Greg O. Saclot College of Business Administration, Bulacan State University Abstract Standards on admission and retention programs on BS Accountancy are necessary in order to meet the needs of this profession. Universities and colleges offering this course must establish a program that will assure high probability for students to successfully finish this program satisfactorily. This exploratory research analyzes the relationship of academic performance of BS Accountancy students in their Accounting subjects, and their performance in the qualifying examination. The result of this study shows that there is a strong positive relationship between these two variables in all of the three batches of BS Accountancy who already took the qualifying examination. Since there is a positive correlation, it revealed that there should be written policies that state the benchmark of required grades for accounting subjects in order to maintain a possible high rate of passers for qualifying examination. Standardized Table of Specification (TOS) on qualifying examination is also recommended in order to give weight on a more important topic that will be part of the examination. Keywords: academic performance, qualifying examination, accounting, BS Accountancy Introduction Bachelor of Science in Accountancy has been one of the most in demand courses in the Philippines nowadays. Accounting officer has ranked top 2 in the list of in-demand local jobs (BLE, 2013). According to records, passers from the latest board examination for accountancy has declined from 47% overall passers from October 2012 to 27% last May 2013, which is the 4th lowest passing rate since 2005. (PRC BOA). Overall Passing Rates Passing Rate 27% 47% 37% 13% 47% 40% 36% 48% 39% 41% 28% 36% 27% 37% 30% 24% 23%

Exam Date May-13 Oct-12 May-12 Dec-11 Oct-11 May-11 Nov-10 Oct-10 May-10 Oct-09 May-09 Oct-08 May-08 Oct-07 May-07 Oct-06 May-05

1,553 4,772 1,995 17 4,066 2,130 35 3,973 1,886 2,888 1,231 2,442 1,268 2,299 1,406 1,597 1,242

of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of of

5,665 9,987 5,315 128 8,525 5,259 96 8,216 4,772 6,929 4,262 6,663 4,651 6,213 4,654 6,499 5,222

In order to meet this demand, universities and colleges must create a program that would meet the standards of admission and retention in the BSA program. It should be sufficiently rigorous and demanding to meet the needs of the profession and merit the respect of the public. (CHED CMO No. 03, Article X, Section 48, Series 2007). Admission to the BSA program should be restricted to students who can demonstrate a high probability of success in the study of accounting through satisfactory academic performance, a qualifying examination, an interview, and/or other appropriate means. The school is given the privilege to require standard admission requirements to the program as reflected in its manual of regulations for students. (CHED CMO No. 03, Article X, Section 50, Series 2007).

Research Objectives The study aims to determine the following: 1. The relationship between the students' performance in qualifying examination and performance in the academic subjects covering the qualifying exam. 2. Establish a benchmark in determining the success of students in qualifying exam through his/her performance in the academic subjects in accounting. Theoretical Framework According to Expectancy theory by Victor Vroom (1964), it suggested that performance is based on individuals factors such as personality, skills, knowledge, experience and abilities.. This theory suggests that effort and satisfaction are related to the degree to which the behavior (or job) is seen as leading to various outcomes weighted (multiplicatively) by the evaluation of these outcomes. The predictability of effort increased when adding others expectations included extensions of the effort model and perceived influence. The job performance model suggests that effort and ability combine to predict performance. An additive rather than a multiplicative combination of these two variables was found to best predicts performance. Research Methodology This exploratory research uses data from past records of grades of BSA students for accounting subjects such as Basic Accounting, Partnership and Corporation, Financial Accounting, etc., and the results of the previous qualifying examinations. Linear correlation coefficient is used in the study in order to measure the strength and the direction of a linear relationship between the academic performance of the students in their accounting subjects and the result of their qualifying examination. The weighted mean of the academic performance and performance in qualifying examination will also be shown in order to create a comparison between the first and second batch of students and to identify the factors that caused that change in the performance. Calculating for the linear correlation coefficient of academic performance and performance in the qualifying examination

Discussion Table 1. Histogram of Academic Performance of first year BSA students for S.Y. 2011-2012

BSA 1A First Semester

100.00 Academic Performance 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 1 3 5 7 9

Series1, 82.90

11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39

BSA 1A Second Semester

100.00 Academic Performance 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 1 3 5 7 9

Series1, 86.00

11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39

The table shows the distribution of academic performance of BSA 1A for first and second semester to show how grades vary from the group.

BSA 1B First Semester

100.00 Academic Performance 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 1 3 5 7

Series1, 77.00

9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41

BSA 1B Second Semester

100.00 Academic Performance 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 1 3 5 7

Series1, 75.00

9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41

The table shows the distribution of academic performance of BSA 1B for first and second semester to show how grades vary from the group. Table 2. Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA S.Y. 2011-2012 S.Y. 2011 - 2012 BSA 1B Qualifying Academic Exam Performance 82.50 80.00 82.50 80.00 71.67 80.00 89.17 75.00 91.67 79.00 74.17 77.50 69.17 86.00 90.83 84.50 90.00 89.00 95.83 75.00 85.83 90.50 70.83 90.50 97.50 86.00 74.17 83.00 65.00 75.00 71.67 81.50 79.17 78.50 65.00 79.00 92.50 78.50 76.67 80.00 90.83 76.00 95.83 76.00 76.67 76.00

BSA 1A Academic Performance 79.04 82.52 89.67 91.15 90.58 79.85 80.80 89.47 91.73 94.32 85.29 80.99 92.81 79.45 82.03 78.40 86.09 78.14 94.27 89.88 88.34 94.30 84.96

Qualifying Exam 55.83 66.67 69.17 75.83 71.67 50.00 75.83 68.33 75.83 45.83 90.00 92.50 75.00 60.83 40.83 73.33 62.50 75.00 65.00 80.00 55.00 48.33 66.67

92.41 86.95 87.44 75.77 87.40 76.72 77.85 86.79 88.36 81.33 89.74 78.35 89.62 77.08 88.08 84.32 84.45 WM = 85.42

86.67 75.00 81.67 49.17 80.83 50.83 74.17 85.00 91.67 74.17 85.00 66.67 79.17 71.67 87.50 81.67 84.17 WM = 79.60

93.50 78.50 92.00 92.00 77.00 95.00 83.00 76.00 78.50 87.50 80.00 92.00 76.00 76.00 77.50 81.50 80.00 76.00 WM = 81.67

82.50 56.67 93.33 88.33 60.00 94.17 75.00 59.17 62.50 77.50 80.83 88.33 50.00 52.50 64.17 77.50 78.33 61.67 WM = 69.33

The table shows the comparison between the academic performance of BSA 1A and 1B and their performance in qualifying examination. Table shows that the average academic performance of BSA 1A is 85.42 while BSA 1B was a weighted average of 81.67. On performance on qualifying examination, BSA 1A got an average of 79.60 while 69.33 for BSA 1B. Table 4. Correlation of Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA 1A S.Y. 2011-2012 Result Details & Calculation X Values Y Values = 3416.74 = 3184.21 Mean = 85.42 Mean = 79.61 (X - Mx)2 = SSx (Y - My)2 = SSy = = 1201.99 4892.49 X and Y Combined N = 40 (X - Mx)(Y - My) = 1976.27 R Calculation r = ((X - My)(Y - Mx)) / ((SSx)(SSy)) r = 1976.269715 / ((1201.99)(4892.49)) = 0.81 Meta Numerics (cross-check) r = 0.81

The value of R is 0.81. This is a strong positive correlation, which means that academic performance goes with high performance on qualifying exam (and vice versa). The value of R2, the coefficient of determination, is 0.66. Table 5. Correlation of Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA 1B S.Y. 2011-2012 Result Details & Calculation X Values Y Values = 3348.5 = 2842.48 Mean = 81.67 Mean = 69.33 (X - Mx)2 = SSx (Y - My)2 = SSy = = 1416.8 7616.81 X and Y Combined N = 41 (X - Mx)(Y - My) = 2675.42 R Calculation r = ((X - My)(Y - Mx)) / ((SSx)(SSy)) r = 2675.41853658537 / ((1416.8)(7616.81)) = 0.81 Meta Numerics (cross-check) r = 0.81

The value of R is 0.81. This is a strong positive correlation, which means that academic performance goes with high performance on qualifying exam (and vice versa). The value of R2, the coefficient of determination, is 0.66. Table 2. Histogram of Academic Performance of 1st year BSA students for S.Y. 2012-2013

Academic Performance

100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 -

BSA 1A First Semester

Series1, 78.01

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51

Academic Performance

100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 0.00

BSA 1A Second Semester

Series1, 80.00

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 Series1, 77.92

BSA 1B First Semester

Academic Performance 120.00 100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 -

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 120.00

BSA 1B Second Semester

Series1, 86.00

Academic Performance

100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 0.00 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47

The table shows the distribution of academic performance of BSA 1B for first and second semester to show how grades vary from the group.

Table 3. Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA S.Y. 2012-2013
BSA 1A Academic Performance 85.44 89.48 85.40 89.26 85.32 87.95 87.75 85.26 85.39 88.18 88.20 84.82 86.21 85.06 81.85 78.01 86.87 92.33 88.23 87.68 83.70 81.76 93.58 85.97 94.36 83.30 90.93 84.13 80.37 83.83 84.83 84.53 79.93 83.16 85.75 85.92 83.64 76.25 80.82 84.44 89.46 84.63 81.60 85.11 91.10 88.76 84.81 91.31 89.77 88.77 79.01 WM = 85.77 S.Y. 2012 - 2013 BSA 1B Qualifying Academic Exam Performance 69.68 93.26 68.39 79.10 58.71 96.65 63.87 76.15 50.97 77.26 50.97 87.24 44.52 82.39 56.13 83.84 66.45 62.58 65.16 58.06 69.03 63.87 43.23 36.77 71.61 81.29 62.58 54.19 55.48 41.29 70.32 72.26 74.84 54.19 73.55 52.90 40.65 63.23 58.71 58.71 50.32 39.35 63.87 52.26 35.48 0.00 45.81 56.13 63.23 49.03 32.90 53.55 58.06 53.55 58.06 65.16 66.45 65.16 22.58 WM = 55.79 WM = 83.25 WM = 51.13 80.04 77.29 88.52 81.64 81.72 89.19 81.06 77.88 93.59 84.47 78.31 78.76 83.08 81.00 80.25 78.59 80.39 79.70 91.28 90.46 75.96 77.06 92.38 85.35 80.69 84.92 95.33 79.19 94.55 76.36 80.65 90.41 79.41 79.22 81.81 77.64 84.69 79.65 85.56 81.96

Qualifying Exam 62.58 33.55 78.71 33.55 37.42 66.45 49.03 65.81 49.03 33.55 70.97 43.87 44.52 57.42 58.06 43.23 70.32 56.77 41.94 34.19 59.35 55.48 42.58 39.35 36.13 34.19 52.26 60.65 34.19 34.84 60.00 61.29 42.58 61.29 78.06 35.48 58.71 29.68 58.71 69.68 50.97 43.87 54.84 44.52 66.45 40.65 49.68 67.74

Table shows that the average academic performance of BSA 1A is 85.77 while BSA 1B has a weighted average of 83.25. On performance on qualifying examination, BSA 1A got an average of 55.79 while 51.13 for BSA 1B. Table 4. Correlation of Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA 1A S.Y. 2012-2013 Result Details & Calculation X Values Y Values = 4374.22 = 2845.14 Mean = 85.77 Mean = 55.79 (X - Mx)2 = SSx (Y - My)2 = SSy = = 739.04 10284.81 X and Y Combined N = 51 (X - Mx)(Y - My) = 2147.08 R Calculation r = ((X - My)(Y - Mx)) / ((SSx)(SSy)) r = 2147.08155294118 / ((739.04)(10284.81)) = 0.78 Meta Numerics (cross-check) r = 0.78

The value of R is 0.78. This is a strong positive correlation, which means that high X variable scores go with high Y variable scores (and vice versa). The value of R2, the coefficient of determination, is 0.61. Table 5. Correlation of Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA 1B S.Y. 2012-2013 Result Details & Calculation X Values Y Values = 3995.9 = 2454.19 Mean = 83.25 Mean = 51.13 (X - Mx)2 = SSx (Y - My)2 = = 1544.48 SSy = 8312.2 X and Y Combined N = 48 (X - Mx)(Y - My) = 2912.57 R Calculation r = ((X - My)(Y - Mx)) / ((SSx)(SSy)) r = 2912.57249583333 / ((1544.48)(8312.2)) = 0.81 Meta Numerics (cross-check) r = 0.81

The value of R is 0.81. This is a strong positive correlation, which means that high X variable scores go with high Y variable scores (and vice versa). The value of R2, the coefficient of determination, is 0.66.

Table 6. Histogram of Academic Performance of 2nd year BSA students for S.Y. 2012-2013

BSA 2A First Semester

120.00 Academic Performance 100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57

BSA 2A Second Semester

120.00 Acaemic Performance 100.00 80.00 60.00 40.00 20.00 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49 51 53 55 57

The table shows the distribution of academic performance of BSA 2A for first and second semester to show how grades vary from the group. Table 7. Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA 2A S.Y. 2012-2013 BSA 2A Academic Performance Qualifying Exam 84.32 51.61 89.36 67.74 81.50 49.03 88.51 63.87 92.39 66.45 87.76 56.77 87.76 65.81 93.05 76.77 92.43 61.94 91.19 64.52 96.17 75.48 98.06 76.77 97.52 72.90 85.52 51.61 92.79 85.81 90.28 66.45 95.58 74.84 88.30 47.74 87.26 54.19 95.47 74.84 98.23 80.00 99.08 83.87 91.64 67.10 77.53 36.77 97.95 87.74 79.09 47.10

88.06 63.87 91.25 76.77 80.96 55.48 98.12 83.87 94.17 72.90 98.97 87.74 88.69 65.16 90.17 67.10 97.19 87.10 78.15 65.81 96.60 83.23 96.32 81.94 96.50 83.23 94.30 72.26 93.49 68.39 88.76 63.23 93.22 74.84 89.50 70.32 86.08 53.55 90.45 72.90 85.51 69.03 86.33 68.39 92.38 76.77 91.66 75.48 81.27 40.00 86.51 65.81 88.66 63.23 81.58 55.48 89.39 67.10 87.16 61.94 92.22 63.23 90.84 63.87 WM = 90.40 WM = 67.72 Table shows that the average academic performance of BSA 2A is 90.40 with 67.72 weighted mean on their performance in qualifying examination. Table 8. Correlation of Academic Performance and Performance in Qualifying Examination of BSA 2A S.Y. 2012-2013 Result Details & Calculation X Values Y Values = 5243.2 = 3927.74 Mean = 90.4 Mean = 67.72 (X - Mx)2 = SSx (Y - My)2 = = 1725.85 SSy = 7997.15 X and Y Combined N = 58 (X - Mx)(Y - My) = 3154.53 R Calculation r = ((X - My)(Y - Mx)) / ((SSx)(SSy)) r = 3154.5257 / ((1725.85)(7997.15)) = 0.85 Meta Numerics (cross-check) r = 0.85

The value of R is 0.85. This is a strong positive correlation, which means that high X variable scores go with high Y variable scores (and vice versa). The value of R2, the coefficient of determination, is 0.72.

Conclusion and Recommendations Since there is a strong positive correlation of the academic performance and qualifying examination performance of BSA students in all levels, it can be concluded that there is high probability that the performance of the students in their qualifying examination may be related his/her academic performances. The researchers recommend the following: 1. To have a written policy regarding the benchmark on grades for all accounting subjects to have higher probability of passers in qualifying examination. 2. There should be a standardized examination and table of specification (TOS) on every accounting examination to assure that the breakdown of questions in qualifying examinations depends on the weight of importance in the knowledge of the accountancy students. References

Mitchell,Terence R., Nebeker,Delbert M., Expectancy Theory Predictions of Academic Performance and Satisfaction. Undated
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0731081

Commission on Higher Education. 2012

http://www.likejobs.com/articles/most-in-demand-courses-in-the-philippines

Accountancy - board exam passing rates 2013

http://www.finduniversity.ph/exams-results/certified-public-accountant-licensure-exam-6/

Commission on Higher Education Memorandum Orders 2007

http://www.ched.gov.ph/chedwww/index.php/eng/Information/CHED-MemorandumOrders/2007-CHED-Memorandum-Orders

Professional Regulatory Commission, Board of Accountancy. Undated

http://www.prc.gov.ph/prb/default.aspx?id=1&content=1