foundational mba accounting and finance knowledge ... report - final... · foundational mba...
TRANSCRIPT
FoundationalMBAaccountingandfinanceknowledgeacquisition:Pedago’sSmartlyvs.traditionalMBAprograms
AssessmentDesign
● PamelaDrake,PhD,CFA,Chandler/UniversalEminentProfessorofFinanceatJamesMadisonUniversity
● PatrickGosselin,MBA,CFP
StudyDesignandDataAnalysis
● LindsayOishi,PhD,EducationalPsychology,StanfordUniversity
● MegGordon,MA,InternationalComparativeEducation,StanfordUniversity
July2016
ContentsExecutivesummary......................................................................................................................................3Introduction.............................................................................................................................................3Assessment...............................................................................................................................................3Coursework..............................................................................................................................................3Findings....................................................................................................................................................3Conclusions..............................................................................................................................................5
Detailedreport.............................................................................................................................................6Introduction.............................................................................................................................................6Recruitmentandeligibility.......................................................................................................................6Testdevelopment.....................................................................................................................................7Participation.............................................................................................................................................8Smartlycoursework..................................................................................................................................8Testing......................................................................................................................................................8Finalstudysample....................................................................................................................................9Findings..................................................................................................................................................11Conclusion..............................................................................................................................................17Limitationsofthestudy..........................................................................................................................17Possiblefuturestudies...........................................................................................................................17
Appendices.................................................................................................................................................19AppendixA:Eligibilityfunnel..................................................................................................................19AppendixB:Accounting-Detailedresults.............................................................................................20AppendixC:Finance-DetailedResults..................................................................................................23AppendixD:Detailsontests..................................................................................................................27AppendixE:Screeners............................................................................................................................40AppendixF:CourseSyllabi-AccountingI&II(128minutes).................................................................42AppendixG:CourseSyllabi-Finance(111minutes)..............................................................................44AppendixH:Fairassessmentofsubjectmatterknowledge?-Studentcomments...............................46
TablesandFiguresTable1.Participationbygender................................................................................................................10Table2.ParticipationbyAge......................................................................................................................10Table3.ComparisonofSmartlypre-testresultswithMBAgroup.............................................................11Table4.ComparisonofSmartlyparticipants'pre-andpost-testscores...................................................12Table5.Explainingscoreimprovement.....................................................................................................13Table6.Comparisonofpost-testperformancebetweenSmartlyandMBAgroups.................................14Table7.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentofaccountingknowledge?......................15Table8.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentoffinanceknowledge?............................16
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ExecutivesummaryIntroductionThisstudyisacomparisonoftheoutcomesoffoundationalMBAaccountingandfinanceconceptslearnedthroughSmartlyonlinecoursescomparedtothoselearnedthroughtraditionalbrick-and-mortarbusinessschoolsintheUnitedStates.Werecruited105recentMBAgraduatesandcurrentstudents(“MBAgroup”)who had completed relevant accounting or finance coursework, with 51 and 54 participants in theAccounting and Finance groups, respectively. MBA participants came from 26 U.S. universities. ThecomparisongroupthatwentthroughtheSmartlyprogram(“Smartlygroup”)iscomposedof77collegegraduates (34Accounting,43Finance)whohadnot studiedanything in the respective subjectmatterareas.
Pedagofundedthisstudyandprovidedsignificantinputandsupportforthedesignandexecutionoftheresearch.Theauthors,however,providedindependentdataanalysisandconclusions,andadvisedonallaspectsofparticipantrecruitment,selection,communication,andassessment.
AssessmentPedagopartneredwithsubject-matterexpertstocreatetwocustom,onlineassessmentsineachsubject.ParticipantsintheSmartlygrouptookaone-hourpre-test,completedSmartlycoursesintheirrespectivesubjectmatterareas(includingreceivingatleastan80percentpassrateonquizzes),andthencompletedapost-test.ParticipantsintheMBAgroupcompletedthepost-testonly.PreliminaryanalysesshowthatlearnersintheSmartlygroupsperformedaswellasorbetterthanMBAparticipantsatpost-test.
CourseworkThe Smartly Accounting participants completed the Smartly coursesAccounting I: Fundamentals andAccounting II: Revenue and Expenses. These courses help students discover financial statementpreparationprinciples,learnbookkeepingmechanicsforbasictransactions,andtakeadeeperlookathowtoaccountforrevenuesandexpenses,includingthecostofgoodssoldanddepreciation.
TheSmartlyFinanceparticipantscompletedtheSmartlycoursesFinance:TimeValueofMoney,ValuationI:DiscountedFreeCashFlow,andCostofCapitalI:CapitalStructure.Thesecoursesareintendedtohelpstudentsacquirebasicmathematicalabilityaroundthetimevalueofmoney,gainfamiliaritywithsomefinancialterminology,usetoolstoforecastacompany’sfuturefreecashflows,applyfinancialmathtovalueacompanybydiscountingthosecashflowsbacktothepresent,andevaluateacompany’sbalancebetweendebtandequityasameansofassessingtheprofitabilityofproposedprojects.
Findings
Improvement(pre-testtopost-test):SmartlyparticipantsSmartlyparticipantsimprovedanaverageof29percentagepoints(Accounting)and33percentagepoints(Finance)frompre-testtopost-test.Statisticalanalysesindicatethattherearesignificantchangesfrompre-testtopost-testfortheparticipantsinbothAccountingandFinance.
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Meantestscore
CourseNumberofparticipants Pre-test Post-test
ScoreImprovement
Accounting 34 57% 86% 29points
Finance 43 49% 82% 33points
ThoughSmartlyparticipantstookasimilartesttwicewithintwoweeks,itisunlikelythatthisimprovementisduetopracticeormemoryeffects.Afterthepre-test,Smartlyparticipantsdidnotreceivefeedbackontheirperformance,couldnotviewcorrectanswers,andcouldnotviewthetestagain.
Post-testperformance:SmartlyversusMBASmartlygroupsperformedaswellas,inthecaseofFinance,orbetterthan,inthecaseofAccounting,theMBAgroupsonassessmentsofthetopicsstudied.
Smartly MBA
CourseMeanPost-testscore
Numberofparticipants
MeanPost-testscore
Numberofparticipants
Accounting 86% 34 75% 50
Finance 82% 43 81% 54
TimeSpentinSmartlyCoursesOnaverage,Smartlyparticipantsspent147minutescompletingaccountingcourseworkand118minutescompletingfinancecoursework.Thesetimeswereinlinewithcourseestimatesof128minutesforAccountingand111minutesforFinance.
ParticipantevaluationofSmartlycustomassessmentAttheendofthepost-test,allparticipantswereasked,“Doyouthinkthiswasafairassessmentofyour[accounting/finance]knowledge?(Yes/No)”,andwerealsoaskedtoexplaintheirresponse.Amajorityof participants said that the custom Smartly Accounting assessmentwas fair (85 percent Smartly, 86percentMBA);theFinanceassessmentwasalsoconsideredfair(84percentSmartly,69percentMBA).1Representativecommentsinclude:
MBA(Accounting) “ItaskedthefundamentalsthatIlearnedinAccountingI”
Smartly(Finance) “IwaspleasantlysurprisedthattheanswersIhadzeroclueaboutinthepre-assessment,Inowunderstood.”
1Only26of54theMBAFinanceparticipantsansweredthisquestion.Thequestionforthisgroupwassentoutviaemailafewweeksafterthepost-testwastaken,sothelowerresponseratemayhavejustbeencircumstantialandshouldnotbetakenasanintentionalunwillingnessamongthisgrouptoanswerthisquestion.
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Smartlyparticipantsatisfaction(NetPromoterScore)Smartly participants were asked to respond (at the conclusion of the second test) to a standardsatisfactionquestion,“HowlikelyareyoutorecommendSmartlytoafriend?”,onascaleof0(Wouldnotrecommend) to 10 (Definitelywould recommend). TheNet Promoter Score,NPS, is calculated as thepercentageofrespondentsanswering9or10(promoters),lessthepercentageofrespondentsanswering0to6(detractors),withscoresrangingfrom-100to100.
TheSmartlyaccountingcoursehad58percentpromotersand6percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof52.TheSmartlyfinancecoursehad49percentpromotersand9percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof40.ThesescoresareinlinewithrecentNPSscoresfortheHarvardMBAprogramandWhartonMBAprogramof41and51,respectively.2,3Representativecommentsinclude:
Accounting “Iactuallyreallylovedthecourses.IfeltlikeIlearnedalotandwasconsistentlyengaged-thelayoutwasgreatandconstantlyansweringquestionsandclickingthroughwassuperentertaining/helpful.Iwoulddefinitelytakemorecoursesinthefutureifoffered.”
Finance “Excellent.IfeelIlearnedanextraordinaryamountinashortperiodoftime.Thechallengesandquestionsweretheperfectbalancebetweenchallengingandfun.”
ConclusionsManycompaniesarelookingfortheskillsdevelopedwhilepursuinganMBA.However,thepursuitofanMBAmay not always be the right choice for all learners, either due to financial, geographic or timeconstraints.
Thisstudysupportstheassertionthatsomeofthefoundationalaccountingandfinancialconceptstaughtin traditional brick-and-mortarMBA program can be learned independently, online through Pedago’stargetedSmartlyactive-learningcourses.Significantimprovementinstudents’knowledgecanbegainedinaslittleastwohoursofengagementwiththesecourses.
Inadditiontobeingtakenontheirownaspartofacomprehensive independentstudyMBAprogram,these courses could be used as supplements to existingMBA programs. First, they could be used asremedial materials for incoming MBA students who need to enhance their understanding of basicconceptsincertainsubjectmatterareas.Second,theycouldbeusedbyMBAinstructorsaspre-requisitework for blended-learning classes. By having students learn basic concepts and complete structuredpracticeexercisesontheirown,instructorscoulddevotemoreclassroomtimetodeeperlearningthroughcasestudiesandgroupwork.
2StevenHind,“WhatisHBS’sNPS?”TheHarbus,February5,2015,(www.harbus.org/2015/the-harbus-survey-says-hbs-mba-program-more-walgreens-than-apple/)3NatalieKitroeff,“MBAsaremoreSatisfiedatWhartonthanatHarvardBusinessSchool”,Bloomberg,March31,2015(www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-31/mbas-are-more-satisfied-at-wharton-than-at-harvard-business-school).
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DetailedreportIntroductionSmartly is an online educational technology platformby Pedago LLC that replaces traditional lecture-basedinstructionwithactive,individualizedlessonsavailableonanydevice.Smartlylessonsrelyontheprinciples of active learning, requiring learners to solve real problems several times per minute byansweringquestionsthat includemultiplechoice, fill in theblank,andmatchingformats.Every lessonbuildsonpreviouslylearnedconceptssothatstudents’understandingiscontinuallytestedastheyareintroducedtonewconcepts.
After takinganactionwithinSmartly, the learner receives immediateconstructiveexplanationsabouterrors;learnersareencouragedtoexplorewhyanswersarerightorwrong,aidingabetterunderstanding.Smartly’s “bite-sized” lessons make learning more manageable by building on previously learnedconcepts,andprovidingimmediatefeedback.Smartlyisoptimizedforbothdesktopandmobiledevices,solearnerscancompletecourseworkattheirconvenience.AsofMayof2016,Smartlylessonshada96-percentlearnerapprovalrating.
TheSmartlyMBAcurriculumconsistsofninecoresubjectareas.Eachareacontainsrequiredcourses,withup to 120 interactive, feedback-based lessons, eachbetween5 and10minutes in duration.A courseconsistsof5-7lessons,thefinallessonbeingaSMARTCASE,ashortassessmentoftheconceptstaughtinthepreviouslessons.
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether accounting and finance concepts learned infoundationalcoursesattraditionalbrick-and-mortarbusinessschoolsintheUnitedStatesarelearnedaseffectively through Smartly courses. This question was addressed by comparing the scores of recentgraduatesandcurrentstudentsfromU.S.MBAprogramstothoseofSmartlystudentsoncustom,onlineassessmentsoffoundationalconceptsintherespectivesubjectmatterareas.
Recruitmentandeligibility
RecruitmentAllparticipantswererecruitedfrom100+onlinesocialmediaMBAgroupsusingoneofthreescreens.Nocompensationwasreceivedforcompletingascreen,andover810peoplecompletedatleastonequestionon the screen. Candidateswere required to be in the age range of 18-44 years to be considered forparticipationinthestudy.
EligibilityMBAgroups
All MBA participants had to have completed an undergraduate degree. Participants in the MBAAccounting group must have also completed at least one accounting course in an accredited MBAprogram.ParticipantsintheMBAFinancegroupmusthavealsocompletedbothcorporatefinanceandfinancial accounting (or equivalent) courses in an accreditedMBAprogram. From those screened, 51participantswereselectedtotaketheAccountingpost-testand54participantswereselectedtotaketheFinancepost-test.
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Smartlygroups
Participants in the Smartly groups could not have completed any MBA program nor completed anundergraduate degree in business, finance, or accounting. Additionally, participants must not havecompletedrelatedcoursesoutsideofanMBAprogramorheldajobinthatfield.ForSmartlyAccountingparticipants, this included courses in accounting or a job as an accountant. For Smartly Financeparticipants,thisincludedcoursesinfinanceorajobwith“finance”inthetitle.Fromthosescreened,93participantswereselectedtotaketheSmartlyAccountingpre-testand119participantswereselectedtotaketheSmartlyFinancepre-test.Ofthoseinvited,62participantsineachgroupcompletedthepre-test.ForAccounting,49participantsstartedthecourseworkand40participantsbothfinishedthecourseworkrequirements and took the post-test. For Finance, 47 participants started the coursework and 43participantsbothfinishedthecourseworkrequirementsandtookthepost-test.
ParticipantsinbothMBAandSmartlygroupswereassignedeithertoaFinanceorAccountinggroup,andcouldnotbe included inbotheven if theycompletedtestsand/orcoursework forbothsubjectareas.NeitherMBAnorSmartlyparticipantshadpreviouslycompletedanySmartlycoursespriortothestudy.
TestdevelopmentBoth the Accounting and Finance tests were created by Pedago’s content development team, whichincludesfull-timeemployeesandcontractedprofessors.ExistingMBAcourseexamsinthesefieldswereusedasaguidelinefordevelopment.
EvaluationandpilottestingThetestswereevaluatedbyPamelaDrake,PhD,CFA,Chandler/UniversalEminentProfessorofFinanceatJamesMadisonUniversityandPatrickGosselin,MBA,CFP.ASpanish-languageversionofthetestwaspilotedwithstudentsfromUniversidadPolitécnicadeMadridinSpain(aninstitutionalpartnerofPedago)toevaluatethetimerequiredtocompleteeachtest.
PilottestswereconductedwithgroupsofcurrentMBAstudentsrecruitedthroughtenonlinesocialmediaMBAgroupstoensurethatquestionswereagoodtestofMBA-levelknowledge.OnepilottestwitheightparticipantswasconductedfortheAccountingtest,whiletwopilotswereconductedfortheFinancetestwith15and31participants.Participantswerepaid$25eachandmetthesameeligibilityrequirementsasMBAparticipantsinthemainstudy.OnequestionontheAccountingtestwasremovedandtenquestionsontheFinancetestwereeitherremovedorchangedbasedonthistesting.
FinaltestsThe finalpre-testandpost-test inAccountingcontained fourteenquestionsandthe finalpre-testandpost-test in Finance contained sixteen questions. Many questions in the Accounting tests containedmultipleparts.Therefore,participantswererequiredtoprovideforty-threeanswersfortheAccountingtests.TheFinancetestsincludedseventeenanswers.
Pre-tests included a question again asking students about prior coursework in the respective subjectmatterareas.Post-testsalsocontainedonequestionaskingwhetherthetestwasafairassessmentofsubjectmatterknowledge(eitherMBAcourseknowledgeorSmartlycourseknowledge,respectively)anda follow up question where participants could explain their answer. Post-tests also included a NetPromoterScore(NPS)questionforSmartlyparticipantstoindicatewhethertheywouldrecommendtheSmartlycoursetoafriend,andwhyorwhynot.
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ParticipationMBAgroup
Onceselected,participants intheMBAgroupweregivenafewdaysfromwhentheywerenotifiedofbeingaccepted intothestudytocompletetheMBApost-test.Smartlystudentsweregivenuptotwoweekstocompletetheirpre-test,Smartlycoursework,andpost-test.Allparticipantscommunicatedwitha research lead who monitored their progress, answered any questions about the research studyprocedures,andsentreminderstocompletethestudy.
MBAgroupparticipantswerepaid$50tocompletetheone-hourpost-test.Smartlyparticipantswerepaid$50tocompletetheone-hourpre-test,$100tocompleteallnecessarycoursework(approximately2-2.5hours),and$50tocompletetheone-hourpost-test.
107MBAparticipantsweresentalinktocompletetheAccountingpost-testand95MBAparticipantsweresent the link to complete the Finance post-test. From this group, 51 participants completed theAccountingpost-testand54participantscompletedtheFinancepost-test.
Smartlygroup
EachSmartlyparticipantreceivedanaccountfortherespectivecoursesandwasemailedausernameandatemporarypassword.SmartlylessonsprovidedetailedfeedbackonbothcorrectandincorrectanswersandallowstudentstoretakeSMARTCASES,shortquizzesattheendofeachchapter.Smartlyparticipantswererequiredtoreceiveatleast80percentonallcoursequizzestobeeligibletotakethepost-test.Allparticipantsthatmettheserequirementswereemailedthepost-testtocompletebytheendoftheinitialallottedtimefortheentirestudyperiod.
SmartlycourseworkAccountingparticipantscompletedtheSmartlycoursesAccounting I:FundamentalsandAccounting II:Revenue and Expenses. These courses are intended to help students discover financial statementpreparationprinciples,learnbookkeepingmechanicsforbasictransactions,andtakeadeeperlookathowtoaccountforrevenuesandexpenses,includingthecostofgoodssoldanddepreciation.
Finance participants completed the Smartly courses Finance: Time Value ofMoney,Cost of Capital I:Capital Structure, andValuation I: Discounted Free Cash Flow. These courses help students apply theprinciplesrelatedtoacompany’sbalancebetweendebtandequity,assesstheprofitabilityofproposedprojects,acquirebasicmathematicalabilitywiththetimevalueofmoney,gainfamiliaritywithfinancialterminology,forecastacompany’sfuturefreecashflows,andvalueacompanybydiscountingthosecashflowsbacktothepresent.
Basedoncourseestimates,studentsshouldhavebeenabletocompletealllessonswithin128minutesforAccountingand111minutesforFinance.Detailedcoursesyllabiincludingcoursestructure,aswellasconceptsaboutandtimerequirementsforeachlessonwithintherequiredcourses,areavailableintheAppendices.
TestingOnceparticipantsqualified, instructionsforparticipating inthestudywereemailedtoeachcandidate.Thepre-andpost-testswereadministeredoverGoogleForms.
Participantsweretoldthateachtestshouldtakelessthananhourtocomplete.Thoughstricttimelimitswere not enforced, students were encouraged to spend nomore than 3minutes on each question.
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Participantswereinformedthattheywouldbeunabletochangeanansweronceitwassubmitted,andparticipantswereadvisednottolookupanyanswerstoquestionsusingexternalreferences.However,thiscouldnotbeenforcedduetothenatureofthetestingplatformandprotocolused.
Themean time between pre-tests and post-tests in the Smartly group was five days for AccountingparticipantsandsixdaysforFinanceparticipants;theminimumwaslessthanonedayandthemaximumwas twelve days. After the pre-test, Smartly participants did not receive any feedback on theirperformance,couldnotviewcorrectanswers,andcouldnotviewthetestagain.Basedonthesefactors,itisunlikelythatanyimprovementwouldbeduetopracticeormemoryeffects,despitetheshortintervalbetween tests. Additionally, more than 95 percent ofMBA participants were currentMBA students.Therefore,theyhadcompletedtherequiredcourseswithinatleastthelasttwoyearsandshouldhavealsohadrelativelyrecentexposuretotheknowledgebeingtested.
FinalstudysampleFinalgroups
ThefinalMBAgroupsconsistedof51participantsforAccountingand54participantsforFinance.FromtheeligibleSmartlygroups,40participantsand45participantscompletedthecourseworkandtookthepost-testforAccountingandFinance,respectively.Someofthosecandidateswereexcludedfromthefinalanalysisbasedonupdatedinformationonpriorknowledgeinthesubjectareasbeingtested.ThefinalSmartlygroupsconsistedof34participantsforAccountingand43participantsforFinance.
Testanswers
AllanswerswereincludedinthefinalanalysisoftheFinancepre-andpost-tests(17).TwoanswersforthesamequestionwereexcludedfromtheanalysisoftheAccountingpre-andpost-testsduetoambiguityinthe wording of the question. Therefore, the final analysis of both Accounting tests included only 41answers.
Participationbygender
Mostofthegroupsarefairlyequally-dividedbygender,asweshowinTable1.TheMBAAccountinggroupiscomposedof39percentwomenand61percentmen,andtheSmartlyAccountinggroupiscomposedof44percentwomenand53percentmen.ForFinance,theMBAgroupcontained43percentwomenand58 percent men, while the Smartly group contained 57 percent women and 43 percent men. Oneparticipantineachgroupdidnotindicategender.
ParticipationbyageSmartlyparticipantstendedtobeslightlyyoungerthanMBAparticipants,asweshowinTable2.Whereasover90percentofparticipantsintheMBAFinanceandMBAAccountinggroupswere25-34yearsofage,theSmartlygroupstendedtobemoreevenlydividedbetweenages25-34(53percentAccounting,58percentFinance)andages18-24(44percentAccounting,37percentFinance).Mostgroupsalsohad1-2participantsintherangeof35-44yearsold.
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Table1.Participationbygender
Accounting Finance
MBA Smartly MBA Smartly
Gender ProportionNumberofparticipants Proportion
Numberofparticipants
Proportion
Numberofparticipants Proportion
Numberofparticipants
Women 39% 20 44% 15 43% 23 57% 24
Men 44% 31 53% 18 57% 31 43% 18
Total 51 33 54 100% 43
Table2.ParticipationbyAge
Accounting Finance
MBA Smartly MBA Smartly
Agerange
ProportionNumberofparticipants Proportion
Numberofparticipants
Proportion
Numberofparticipants Proportion
Numberofparticipants
18-24 4% 2 44% 15 4% 2 37% 16
25-34 92% 47 53% 18 93% 50 58% 24
35-44 2% 1 0% 0 4% 2 4% 2
Notdisclosed 2% 1 3% 1 0% 0 2% 1
Total 51 34 54 43
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Findings
Smartlypre-courseperformancevs.MBAperformanceAllSmartlyparticipantshadatleastabachelor’sdegree,soweexpectthatmostoftheparticipantsintheSmartlygroupwouldhavehadalayknowledgeofatleastsomeoftheconceptsineachofthesubjectareasbeingtested,butnotasmuchknowledgeasMBAstudentswhohadcompletedformalcourseworkinthesesubjects.Wecomparedpre-testscoresforSmartlyparticipantswithpost-testscoresforMBAparticipantstoexaminethisissue.
AsweshowinTable3,themeanscoreforthe34SmartlyAccountingparticipantsis56.7percentandthemedian is53.7percent,witha lowscoreof26.8percentandahighscoreof80.5percent.Forthe43Smartlyparticipantsinfinance,themeanscoreforSmartlyparticipantsis49.2percentandthemedianis52.9percent,withalowscoreof11.8percentandahighscoreof82.4percent.
We calculated the t-statistic for the test of the means of the Smartly participants versus the MBAparticipantstoensurethattheinitialknowledgeoftheSmartlyparticipantswasdifferentfromthatoftheMBAparticipants.WeprovidetheseresultsinTable3.Ourtestofdifferenceinmeansindicatesthatthereisastatisticallysignificantdifferencebetweenthemeanpre-testscoresforSmartlyparticipantsandthemeanpost-testscoresforMBA.
Table3.ComparisonofSmartlypre-testresultswithMBAgroup
PanelA:Accounting
Numberofparticipants
MeanScore(Mean) Median
Lowestscore HighestScore
Smartlypre-test 34 57% 54% 27% 80%
MBApost-test 51 75% 76% 41% 93%
t-statisticfortestofdifferenceinmeans,p-valuein()
6.40(<0.0001)
PanelB:Finance
Numberofs Meanscore MedianLowestscore HighestScore
Smartlypre-test 43 49.2% 53% 12% 82%
MBApost-test 54 82.4% 8% 29% 100%
t-statisticfortestofdifferenceinmeans,p-valuein()
-8.58(<0.0001)
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TimespentinSmartlycoursesAccounting participants spent an average of 147 minutes to complete all required lessons, with theshortesttimebeing81minutesandthelongesttimebeing342minutes.Financeparticipantsspentanaverageof118minutestocompleteallrequiredlessons,withtheshortesttimebeing60minutesandthelongesttimebeing186minutes.
Courseeffectiveness:Pre-testtopost-testImprovementforSmartlyparticipantsOnaverage,participantswhotooktheSmartlycourseimprovedby29percentagepointsand33percentagepointsfrompre-testtopost-testforAccountingandFinance,respectively.Allbutoneparticipantineachgroupachievedahigherscoreatpost-testthanatpre-test.Weprovidetheresultsofthetestofthemeanofthedifferencesbetweenpre-andpost-testscoresforSmartlyparticipantsinTable4.
Table4.ComparisonofSmartlyparticipants'pre-andpost-testscores
Includingparticipantscompletingboththepre-andpost-tests
Meanscore
Smartlycourse
Numberofparticipants Pre-test Post-test
Changefrompretoposttest
t-statisticfortestofdifferencepre-to
post-testp-valuein()
Accounting 34 57% 86% 29.1% 12.39(<0.0001)
Finance 43 49.2% 82.4% 33.2% 12.11(<0.0001)
SomeSmartlyparticipantsdidrelativelywellevenatpre-test(withscoresupto80percentinAccountingand 82 percent in Finance), so we also examine whether pre-test performance was related toimprovementatpost-test.
WespliteachSmartlygroupintolowandhighpre-testscores,andlowandhighimprovement,usingthemedianscoresascutoffs.Wecalculatedachi-squaredtestofindependence,withtheresultofasignificantrelationshipbetweenpre-testperformanceandimprovementforbothAccountingandFinance.4ForbothSmartlygroups,participantswithlowerpre-testscoresweremorelikelytobeinthehighimprovementgroup.However,evenparticipantswhostartedwithhigherscoresatpre-testimproved,onaverage.Thisresultisconsistentwithreversiontothemean--astatisticalphenomenoninwhichhighandlowscorerstend to get closer to the mean scores at re-test -- and with an overall learning effect for Smartlyparticipants.
Wealsotakeanother,morerobustapproachtoexaminingthescoresfortheSmartlygroup.Weestimatetheregressionofpost-testscoresonthepre-testscores,controllingforthetimespentontheSmartlymaterial(Time).WeestimatethisregressionforboththeFinanceandtheAccountingSmartlygroups,and
4ForAccounting,chi-squaredstatisticis10.25withonedegreeoffreedom,resultinginap<0.01.ForFinance,thechi-squaredstatisticis12.64withonedegreeoffreedom,andap-value0.01
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provide the results inTable5. The results are consistentwithparticipantswithhigherpre-test scoresshowingthemostimprovementinscores.Foraccountingparticipants,thegreaterthetimespentonthematerial,thegreaterthechangeinthetestscoresfrompre-to-post-test.5
Table5.Explainingscoreimprovement
Thedependentvariableisthechangeinthetestscore.Estimatedcoefficients,withp-valuesinparenthesesbelowcoefficients
Finance AccountingIntercept 0.5398
(<0.0001) 0.63865
(<0.0001)Pre-testscore 0.2842
(0.0241) 0.3857
(0.0164)Time 0.0013
(0.0383) 0.0001
(0.8335) R-squared 0.2041 0.1889F-statistic 5.13
(0.0104) 3.61
(0.0390)
SmartlyPost-testperformancevs.MBAperformanceWeprovide the resultsof comparing the Smartlypost-test scoreswith theMBAgroup scores for theAccounting and Finance courses, respectively, in Table 6. Aswe indicatewith a t-statistic to test thedifferenceinmeansscoresbetweentheSmartlygroupandtheMBAgroup,theSmartlyAccountinggroupoutperformedtheMBAgroup,withthedifferenceinmeanscoressignificantatmostreasonablelevelsofsignificance.TheSmartlyFinancecourseparticipantsscorenodifferentlythanthoseintheMBAgroup,asindicatedbyap-valueoftheteststatisticthatisabovereasonablelevelsofsignificance.
5Thepre-testscoreandtimetogetherexplain20percentofthevariationintestscoresforFinanceparticipants,andalmost19percentforAccountingparticipants.
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Table6.Comparisonofpost-testperformancebetweenSmartlyandMBAgroups
Smartly MBA
t-statistic(withp-valueinparentheses)fortestofdifferenceinmeanscores
Course MeanNumberofparticipants Mean
Numberofparticipants
Assumingequal
variances
Assumingunequalvariances
Accounting 86% 34 75% 51 3.95(0.0002)
3.97(0.0002)
Finance 82% 43 81% 54 0.44(0.6594)
0.46(0.6473)
FeedbackfromparticipantsAllparticipantscompletingthepost-testwereaskediftheythoughtthetestwasafairassessmentoftheirsubjectmatterknowledgeintherespectiveareas.ForAccounting,85percentofSmartlyparticipantsand86percentofMBAparticipantsindicatedthatthetestwasafairassessment.ForFinance,84percentofSmartlyparticipantsand69percentofMBAparticipantsindicatedthatthetestwasafairassessmentoftheirsubjectmatterknowledge.6WeproviderepresentativecommentsinTable7forAccountinggroups,andinTable8forFinancegroups.
6Only26of54theMBAFinanceparticipantsansweredthisquestion.Thequestionforthisgroupwassentoutviaemailafewweeksafterthepost-testwastaken,sothelowerresponseratemayhavejustbeencircumstantialandshouldnotbetakenasanintentionalunwillingnessamongthisgrouptoanswerthisquestion.
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Table7.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentofaccountingknowledge?
MBA Smartly
Yes ● Allofthequestionswererelevanttogeneralaccounting.
● Becauseitcoveredawidevarietyofquestionsandtheinformationwaspresentedclearly.
● Itaskedaboutconceptsimportanttoaccounting,especiallythosethataremostfrequentlyappliedinreal-worldsettingsofreadingfinancialsandanalyzingaccountingtransactions.Theonlythingmissingwastestingmyunderstandingofwhatgoesintodifferentfinancialstatements(e.g.,incomestatement,cashflowstatement,etc.).
● Allquestionswereverysimilartothesmartlymodulesandseemedtobeafairoveralltestofknowledge.
● Ihavenothadathoroughaccountinglessoninmanyyears,sogoingthroughthecourseandtakingthispost-examshowsmycurrentunderstandingofwhatIretained.
● Itwascomprehensiveandincludedrealisticexamples,similartowhatoneworkinginaccountingwouldhave.
No ● Someofthequestionswerepoorlyworded.ItwasnotclearwhatIwassupposedtoanswer.
● There'smuchmoretoitthanrememberingeasy-to-referenceformulasbyheart.
● Istudiedaccountingwiththecasemethod,learningtomaketoughjudgmentsaboutuniqueaccountingsituationsthatactualcompaniesface.Idon'trememberTaccounts,butIdorememberprinciplesthatwouldbeappliedinactualsituations.
● Ihavenothadtoapplyitinahuman-to-humaninteraction.MyknowledgeiscircumstantialandIwouldnotfeelconfidentsharingthisknowledgeinreallife.
● Yesandno.Whilethisassessmentaddressedthebasics,IdonotbelieveittackledthemorechallenginglessonslearnedinPart2ofthestudymaterials.
● Ithinkit'sprettyspecifictotheSmartlytestenvironment.IthinktherearealotofthingsthatIknowthroughexperiencethatweren'texploredorcapturedhere,butsomemoretechnicalthingslikeLIFOvs.FIFOthatIwasunfamiliarwiththatare.Iwouldsayit'saprettygoodassessmentbasedonthecontentofthelectures.
16
Table8.RepresentativeComments:Testwasfairassessmentoffinanceknowledge?
MBA Smartly
Yes● Itassessedbasicbuildingconceptsof
financethatshouldbelearntduringintroductorycourses.
● Thequestionitselfwassimplebutrequirecertainknowledgeaboutfinance.
● Itcapturedtheessentialsanyfinanceprofessionalshouldknow..Ofcourse,thisonlyscratchesthesurface,butyoumanagedtocapturetheessentials.
● Iwasablankslateforfinanceknowledge.SoanythingIhaveorhavenotlearnedcamedirectlyfromthisplatform!
● IwaspleasantlysurprisedthattheanswersIhadzeroclueaboutinthepre-assessment,Inowunderstood.
● Thequestionspertainedtothemateriallearnedthroughtheonlinemodules.Thesequestionswerenottoodifficult,butalsodidnotgiveawaytheanswers.
No● Itlookedmoreatspecificsinsteadofgeneral
principles● Financeismoreaboutconceptual
knowledgethanjustnumbers..Thisassessmentconcentratedmoreonquantitativestuff.
● Itwastoobasic
● Becausethequestionsseemsverysimpleandsimilartosmartlycontent.Itfeltlikethecoursetaughttothetest.
● Simplytakingacourseonlinewithoutanyextrastudytimedoesnotaccuratelyreflectmyabilitytotakeinandlearninformation.Thequestionsinthefinalassessmentwereverydetailed.Itishardtorememberthesedetailsfromjusttakinganonlinecourseonce.
● Thereshouldbecasebasedquestions.
Smartlyparticipantsatisfaction(NetPromoterScore)Smartly participants were asked (at the conclusion of the second test) to respond to a standardsatisfactionquestion,theNetPromoterScore(NPS)question,“HowlikelyareyoutorecommendSmartlytoafriend?”,onascaleof0(Wouldnotrecommend)to10(Definitelywouldrecommend).TheNPSiscalculated as the percentage of respondents answering 9 or 10 (promoters), less the percentage ofrespondentsanswering0to6(detractors),withscoresrangingfrom-100to100.
TheSmartlyAccountingcourseshad58percentpromotersand6percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof52.TheSmartlyFinancecourseshad49percentpromotersand9percentdetractors,receivinganNPSscoreof40.ThesescoresareinlinewithrecentNPSscoresfortheHarvardMBAprogramandWhartonMBAprogram,withNPSof41and51,respectively.7,8
7StevenHind,“WhatisHBS’sNPS?”TheHarbus,February5,2015,(www.harbus.org/2015/the-harbus-survey-says-hbs-mba-program-more-walgreens-than-apple/).8NatalieKitroeff,“MBAsaremoreSatisfiedatWhartonthanatHarvardBusinessSchool”,Bloomberg,March31,2015(www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-31/mbas-are-more-satisfied-at-wharton-than-at-harvard-business-school).
17
ConclusionManycompaniesarelookingfortheskillsdevelopedwhilepursuinganMBA.However,thepursuitofanMBAmaynotalwaysbetherightchoiceforalllearners,duetofinancial,geographic,ortimeconstraints.
Thisstudysupportstheassertionthatsomeofthefoundationalaccountingandfinancialconceptstaughtin traditionalbrick-and-mortarMBAprogramscanbe learned independently,online throughPedago’stargetedSmartlyactive-learningcourses.Significantimprovementinstudents’knowledgeisacquiredinaslittleastwohoursofengagementwiththesecourses.
Inadditiontobeingtakenontheirownaspartofacomprehensive independentstudyMBAprogram,these courses could be used as supplements to existingMBA programs. First, they could be used asremedial materials for incoming MBA students who need to enhance their understanding of basicconceptsincertainsubjectmatterareas.Second,theycouldbeusedbyMBAinstructorsaspre-workforblended-learning classes. By having students learn basic concepts and complete structured practiceexercisesontheirown,instructorscoulddevotemoreclassroomtimetodeeperlearningthroughcasestudiesandgroupwork.
LimitationsofthestudyTheSmartlycoursesarestillunderdevelopmentandfewstudentshavetakenallofthecoursesthatwouldbeequivalenttoallofthecourseworkinagivenMBAsubjectmatterarea.Therefore,itisnotcurrentlypossibletotestcomprehensivesubject-matterknowledge.Thetestsusedweredevelopedin-houseandintendedspecificallytocovertheconceptstaughtinthecurrentcourses.
Whereasthetestsusedweredeemedbystudentstobeafairassessmentoftheirknowledge,manyMBAstudentsmentionedthatthetestscoveredbasicaccountingprinciples,butdidnotcoverotherconceptstheyhadlearnedintheiraccountingcourses.Forfuturestudieswithstudentswhohavecompletedanentirecourseseries,itwouldbehelpfultouseamore-widelyacceptedtest.First,suchatestwouldallowfortheassessmentofabroadersetofknowledge.Additionally,thissortofassessmentwouldallowforcomparisonacrossawidersetofparticipantsintraditionalMBAprograms.Amore-widelyacceptedtestwouldpermitmorecross-sectionsofthegroup,aswellasadeeperanalysis.
Additionally,thetimeframeforthestudywascompact.Therefore,thetimebetweenstartingacourseandtakingthepost-testwasrelativelyshort,andmaynotrepresentthetimethatmoststudentswouldtaketofinishagivencourse.Itwouldbeusefultotestthissamegroupagainin3-6monthstoseehowmuchofthecourseknowledgeisretainedovertime.
Possiblefuturestudies
Comparisonstootheronline,self-studyplatformsTherearemanyfree,onlineself-guided learningsystemsnowavailable forstudentswhoaretryingtoimprovetheirknowledgeskillsatatimeandplacethatismostconvenientforthem.PedagohasdesignedSmartly’slearningsystemtoprovideadifferentexperiencefromtheseothersystemsbyfocusingon“bite-sized”lessonsthatincorporateactivelearning.Itwouldbeinterestingtoconductpre-/post-evaluationswithstudentstakingspecificsubjectmattercoursesonotherplatformswiththosecompletingthecoursesinSmartly.Thiscomparisonwouldhelptonormalizesomeconditionsthatwerenotavailableinthisstudy,includingindependentvs.classroom-basedlearning,anddigitalvs.analoglearning.
18
ItemanalysisInthisstudy,wedidnotexaminelearningoutcomesforspecificitemsonthetest.However,weshouldreview this data based on the concepts being assessed. Concept-specific analyses of the Smartlyparticipantdataisexpectedtohighlightwherestudentshadthesmallestgainsinknowledge.Suchresultsmight indicate that the lessonson thoseconceptseithermayneed tobe improvedor thatadditionallessonsinthoseconceptsmayberequiredfortheknowledgetobemorefullyacquired.Concept-specificanalysesoftheMBAdatamightbeusedto identifytheconcepts least likelytoberetainedovertime,which could also help Pedago tomake strategic decisions about how to structure their own contentrelatedtothoseitems.
19
AppendicesAppendixA:Eligibilityfunnel
Screen participants (810)
ACCOUNTING
SMARTLYPre-test taken
(62)
MBAinvited to
participate (107)
SMARTLYCoursework started (49)
SMARTLYAnalysis group
(34)
MBAAnalysis
group (51)
FINANCE
MBATake post-test (54)
SMARTLYtake pre-test
(62)
SMARTLYCoursework
completed and post-test taken
(43)
SMARTLY Start
coursework started (47)
SMARTLYAnalysis group
(43)
MBAAnalysis
group (54)
SMARTLYCoursework
completed and post-test taken
(40)
MBAInvited to
participate (95)
MBA Take
post-test (51)
SMARTLYInvite to
participate (93)
SMARTLYInvite to
participate (119)
20
AppendixB:Accounting-Detailedresults
SmartlyAccountinggroupresults(N=34)
Mean Median Mode Minimum Maximum
Pre-testscores 57% 54% 54% 27% 80%
Post-testscores 86% 89% 98% 49% 100%
%Change 59% 46% 38% -9% 191%
PointChange 29 27 27 -5 61
SmartlyAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=34)
Student Pre-test Post-test %change Pointchange
MinutestocompleteSmartlycourse
RetookQuizzes
SmartlyAcctgStudent1 34% 61% 79% 27 135 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent2 61% 88% 44% 27 173 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent3 78% 98% 25% 20 126 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent4 46% 90% 95% 44 99 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent5 54% 95% 77% 41 179 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent6 54% 90% 68% 37 176 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent7 63% 93% 46% 29 81 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent8 49% 93% 90% 44 101 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent9 49% 71% 45% 22 233 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent10 68% 95% 39% 27 342 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent11 27% 78% 191% 51 155 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent12 68% 85% 25% 17 157 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent13 71% 98% 38% 27 134 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent14 71% 98% 38% 27 122 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent15 66% 90% 37% 24 141 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent16 51% 78% 52% 27 95 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent17 66% 98% 48% 32 123 Yes
21
SmartlyAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=34)(cont’d)
Student Pre-test Post-test %change Pointchange
MinutestocompleteSmartlycourse
RetookQuizzes
SmartlyAcctgStudent18 49% 80% 65% 32 114 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent19 78% 90% 16% 12 90 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent20 44% 85% 94% 41 128 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent21 76% 98% 29% 22 214 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent22 49% 66% 35% 17 108 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent23 61% 76% 24% 15 127 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent24 59% 83% 42% 24 151 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent25 44% 90% 106% 46 131 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent26 80% 83% 3% 2 212 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent27 37% 98% 167% 61 112 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent28 39% 88% 125% 49 168 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent29 59% 83% 42% 24 136 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent30 54% 49% -9% -5 127 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent31 54% 98% 82% 44 146 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent32 54% 80% 50% 27 147 Yes
SmartlyAcctgStudent33 76% 100% 32% 24 209 No
SmartlyAcctgStudent34 41% 73% 76% 32 108 Yes
22
MBAAccountinggroupresults(N=51)
Mean Median Mode Min Max
Post-testscores 75% 76% 88% 41% 93%
MBAAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=51)
MBAAccountingStudent
Post-testscore
MBAAccountingStudent
Post-testscore
MBAAccountingStudent
Post-testscore
MBAAcctgStudent1 93% MBAAcctgStudent18 88% MBAAcctgStudent35 88%
MBAAcctgStudent2 85% MBAAcctgStudent19 78% MBAAcctgStudent36 76%
MBAAcctgStudent3 90% MBAAcctgStudent20 93% MBAAcctgStudent37 68%
MBAAcctgStudent4 83% MBAAcctgStudent21 80% MBAAcctgStudent38 66%
MBAAcctgStudent5 78% MBAAcctgStudent22 59% MBAAcctgStudent39 76%
MBAAcctgStudent6 80% MBAAcctgStudent23 90% MBAAcctgStudent40 68%
MBAAcctgStudent7 59% MBAAcctgStudent24 71% MBAAcctgStudent41 76%
MBAAcctgStudent8 71% MBAAcctgStudent25 73% MBAAcctgStudent42 54%
MBAAcctgStudent9 88% MBAAcctgStudent26 73% MBAAcctgStudent43 88%
MBAAcctgStudent10 66% MBAAcctgStudent27 54% MBAAcctgStudent44 88%
MBAAcctgStudent11 68% MBAAcctgStudent28 41% MBAAcctgStudent45 80%
MBAAcctgStudent12 51% MBAAcctgStudent29 80% MBAAcctgStudent46 85%
MBAAcctgStudent13 90% MBAAcctgStudent30 71% MBAAcctgStudent47 93%
MBAAcctgStudent14 78% MBAAcctgStudent31 71% MBAAcctgStudent48 61%
MBAAcctgStudent15 73% MBAAcctgStudent32 88% MBAAcctgStudent49 66%
MBAAcctgStudent16 80% MBAAcctgStudent33 61% MBAAcctgStudent50 68%
MBAAcctgStudent17 66% MBAAcctgStudent34 85% MBAAcctgStudent51 83%
23
AppendixC:Finance-DetailedResults
SmartlyFinancegroupresults(N=43)
Mean Median Mode Minimum Maximum
Pre-testscores 49% 53% 65% 12% 49%
Post-testscores 82% 82% 88% 41% 82%
%Change 94% 60% 50% 0% 94%
Pointchange 33 35 29 0 33
SmartlyFinanceindividualparticipantresults(N=43)
Student Pre-test Post-test %changePointchange
Minutestocomplete
SmartlycourseRetookquizzes
SmartlyFinanceStudent1 24% 88% 275% 65 164 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent2 65% 88% 36% 24 85 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent3 71% 82% 17% 12 117 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent4 65% 100% 55% 35 90 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent5 47% 88% 88% 41 60 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent6 47% 76% 63% 29 101 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent7 47% 88% 88% 41 149 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent8 47% 76% 63% 29 130 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent9 29% 41% 40% 12 106 Yes
SmartlyFinanceStudent10 53% 94% 78% 41 150 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent11 29% 71% 140% 41 93 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent12 65% 76% 18% 12 127 Yes
SmartlyFinanceStudent13 18% 100% 467% 82 162 Yes
SmartlyFinanceStudent14 29% 94% 220% 65 129 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent15 41% 94% 129% 53 146 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent16 59% 94% 60% 35 172 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent17 53% 100% 89% 47 74 No
24
25
SmartlyFinanceindividualparticipantresults(N=43)(cont’d)
Student Pre-test Post-test %changePointchange
Minutestocomplete
SmartlycourseRetookquizzes
SmartlyFinanceStudent18 35% 82% 133% 47 87 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent19 53% 65% 22% 12 123 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent20 35% 76% 117% 41 119 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent21 53% 82% 56% 29 108 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent22 47% 82% 75% 35 70 Yes
SmartlyFinanceStudent23 41% 65% 57% 24 81 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent24 41% 41% 0% 0 104 Yes
SmartlyFinanceStudent25 65% 82% 27% 18 61 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent26 59% 94% 60% 35 124 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent27 76% 100% 31% 24 163 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent28 65% 71% 9% 6 114 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent29 29% 88% 200% 59 115 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent30 76% 94% 23% 18 137 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent31 29% 82% 180% 53 85 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent32 65% 82% 27% 18 110 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent33 82% 88% 7% 6 73 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent34 59% 88% 50% 29 134 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent35 35% 76% 117% 41 110 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent36 53% 100% 89% 47 186 Yes
SmartlyFinanceStudent37 29% 71% 140% 41 133 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent38 76% 88% 15% 12 128 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent39 12% 65% 450% 53 101 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent40 35% 71% 100% 35 102 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent41 59% 88% 50% 29 178 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent42 59% 76% 30% 0 139 No
SmartlyFinanceStudent43 59% 88% 50% 29 112 No
26
MBAFinanceparticipantresults(N=54)
Mean Median Mode Minimum Maximum
Post-testscores 81% 88% 100% 29% 100%
MBAAccountingindividualparticipantresults(N=54)
MBAFinanceStudent Post-testscore
MBAFinanceStudent Post-testscore
MBAFinanceStudent Post-testscore
MBAFinanceStudent1 82% MBAFinanceStudent19 65% MBAFinanceStudent37 71%
MBAFinanceStudent2 47% MBAFinanceStudent20 76% MBAFinanceStudent38 100%
MBAFinanceStudent3 94% MBAFinanceStudent21 82% MBAFinanceStudent39 71%
MBAFinanceStudent4 53% MBAFinanceStudent22 59% MBAFinanceStudent40 47%
MBAFinanceStudent5 53% MBAFinanceStudent23 100% MBAFinanceStudent41 94%
MBAFinanceStudent6 94% MBAFinanceStudent24 100% MBAFinanceStudent42 88%
MBAFinanceStudent7 100% MBAFinanceStudent25 88% MBAFinanceStudent43 94%
MBAFinanceStudent8 94% MBAFinanceStudent26 76% MBAFinanceStudent44 100%
MBAFinanceStudent9 100% MBAFinanceStudent27 76% MBAFinanceStudent45 82%
MBAFinanceStudent10 100% MBAFinanceStudent28 100% MBAFinanceStudent46 41%
MBAFinanceStudent11 71% MBAFinanceStudent29 100% MBAFinanceStudent47 82%
MBAFinanceStudent12 100% MBAFinanceStudent30 53% MBAFinanceStudent48 100%
MBAFinanceStudent13 71% MBAFinanceStudent31 65% MBAFinanceStudent49 76%
MBAFinanceStudent14 29% MBAFinanceStudent32 94% MBAFinanceStudent50 94%
MBAFinanceStudent15 94% MBAFinanceStudent33 100% MBAFinanceStudent51 88%
MBAFinanceStudent16 94% MBAFinanceStudent34 76% MBAFinanceStudent52 100%
MBAFinanceStudent17 47% MBAFinanceStudent35 71% MBAFinanceStudent53 100%
MBAFinanceStudent18 88% MBAFinanceStudent36 53% MBAFinanceStudent54 88%
27
AppendixD:Detailsontests
AccountingtestsQuestion1
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Balancesheet
Selecttheequationthatistrueofallbalancesheets.
assets=liabilities+equity;equity=liabilities+assets;liabilities=assets+equity
assets=liabilities+equity
A1Sameaspre-test
Question2
ConceptTested
Question Answeroptions Correctanswers Answer# Question Answeroptions
Correctanswers
Balancesheet
Labelthefollowingbalancesheetaccountsasassets,liabilities,orequity.AccountsReceivable;BankLoanPayable;Cash;Inventory;Paid-InCapital;PrepaidExpenses;Property,Plant&Equipment;RetainedEarnings
Asset;Liabilities;Equity
Assets A2Sameaspre-testLiabilities A3
Assets A4Assets A5Equity A6Assets A7Assets A8Equity A9
28
Question3
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Balancesheet
Moneythatacompanyowestoitsvendorsisrecordedintheaccount_____________________________.
AccountsReceivable;AccountsPayable;AllowanceforDoubtfulAccounts;Credits;Current;Debits;Noncurrent/Long-term;RetainedEarnings
AccountsPayable A10Sameaspre-test
Netincomethatisreinvestedinthecompanyisknownas_____________________________.
Retainedearnings A11
Liabilitiesandassetsthatareexpectedtobepaidofforconvertedintocashwithinoneyeararesaidtobe_____________________________.
Current A12
Moneyduetoacompanyfromitscustomersisrecordedintheaccount_____________________________.
AccountsReceivable A13
Liabilitiesandassetswithalongertimeframearesaidtobe_____________________________.
Non-current/long-term A14
InT-accounts,_____________________________alwaysgoontheleft.
Debits A15
InT-accounts,_____________________________alwaysgoontheright.
Credits A16
Question4
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Generalledger
Whichofthefollowinggeneralledgeraccountsareclosedoutattheendofeachaccountingperiod?(Selectallthatapply.)
Cash;Expenses;NetIncome;RetainedEarnings;Revenues
Expenses;Revenues A17Sameaspre-test
29
Question5
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Generalledger
Foreachtypeofaccountbelowdeterminewhethertheleftsideofthebalancesheetrecordsincreases(+)orrecordsdecreases(-).AssetAccount;LiabilityAccount;EquityAccount;Revenues;Expenses
Plus;Minus
Plus A18Sameaspre-testMinus A19
Minus A20Minus A21Plus A22
Question6
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Journal Adeliveryofmerchandisewasmadetoacustomer.Themerchandisecosttheseller$3,500tomake.Thecustomerpaid$1,500andowesanother$4,000.Inwhichorderdothefollowingtermsappearinthefirstcolumnofthebalancesheetabove?(Oneaccountdoesn’tbelong.).AccountsReceivable;Cash;Expenses;Inventory;Revenues;DeferredRevenue
1;2;3;4;5;Doesn'tBelong
2 A23Sameaspre-test1 A24
4 A255 A263 A27Doesn'tbelong A28
Question7
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Conservatismprinciple
Accordingtotheconservatismconcept,revenuesarerecordedwhen:
anorderisplacedcashisreceivedandnotbeforeinventoryisreadytobesolditisreasonablycertainthattheywillbecollected
itisreasonablycertainthattheywillbecollected
A29Sameaspre-test
30
Question8
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Conservatismprinciple
Expensesarerecordedassoonastheyare:
Incurred;paidwithcash;projectedinaproposal;reasonablycertain
incurred A30Sameaspre-test
Question9
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
ManufacturingOverhead
Lastyear,acompanyhad$3millioninproductionoverheadandspent$1.5millionondirectlaborcosts.Usinglaborcostasitsbasis,selectthecorrectoverheadrate.
$3million÷$1.5million=$2;$1.5million÷$3million=$0.50;$3million×$1.5million=$4.5million;($3 million − $1.5 million) ÷ $1.5 million = $1;
$3million÷$1.5million=$2
A31 Lastyear,acompanyhad$4.5millioninproductionoverheadandspent$1.5millionondirectlaborcosts.Usinglaborcostasitsbasis,selectthecorrectoverheadrate.
$4.5million÷$1.5million=$3;$1.5million÷$4.5million=$0.33;$4.5million×$1.5million=$6.75million;($4.5million−$1.5million)÷$1.5million=$2
$4.5million÷$1.5million=$3
Question10
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Depreciation Afixedassetthatcost$200,000hasaservicelifeof5years.Usingstraight-linedepreciation,whatwilltheannualdepreciationexpensebe?
open-ended 40,000 A32 Afixedassetthatcost$300,000hasaservicelifeof6years.Usingstraight-linedepreciation,whatwilltheannualdepreciationexpensebe?
open-ended 50,000
31
Question11
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Journal Anassethasaccumulateditsentire$4millioncostindepreciationovera10-yearperiod.Ascrapdealerpurchasestheassetfor$5,000.PlacetheaccountsbelowinthecorrectorderthattheywouldappearinthejournalAccumulatedDepreciation;GainonAssetDisposal;Cash;PP&E
1;2;3;4 2 A33 Anassethasaccumulateditsentire$3millioncostindepreciationovera10-yearperiod.Ascrapdealerpurchasestheassetfor$4,000.Placetheaccountsbelowinthecorrectorderthattheywouldappearinthejournal.[AccumulatedDepreciation][GainonAssetDisposal][Cash][PP&E]
1234
23 A34 31 A35 14 A36 4
Question12(Excludedfromanalysis)
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Inventory AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodX]
LIFO;FIFO MethodX
X1 AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodX]
LIFOFIFO
MethodX
AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodY]
LIFO;FIFO MethodY
X2 AstorepurchasedinventorythreetimesinJune.45unitsofthatinventoryweresold.Inthejournalabove,whichcorrespondstoeachofthefollowinginventorycostmethods?[MethodY]
LIFOFIFO
MethodY
32
Question13
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Journal Acraftsmanpurchased$700worthofmaterialsoncredit.Shefinishedcraftingapieceofmerchandiseworth$200anddisplayeditinherstorewithapricetagof$450.Selectwhichofthetransactionsaboveneedtoberecorded.
A;B;C B A37 Acraftsmanpurchased$900worthofmaterialsoncredit.Shefinishedcraftingapieceofmerchandiseworth$300anddisplayeditinherstorewithapricetagof$600.Selectwhichofthetransactionsaboveneedtoberecorded.
ABC
B
Question14
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Journal Completethejournalentriesforselling$2,000ofinventoryfor$4,000oncredit.Referencethisimage.BlankA;BlankB;BlankC;BlankD
$4,000;$6,000;$2,000;$8,000
$4,000.00 A38 Completethejournalentriesforselling$5,000ofinventoryfor$9,000.[Referenceimage]
$4,000$5,000$14,000$9.000
$9,000.00
Cash;Revenues;Inventory;DeferredRevenue
revenues A39 CashRevenuesInventoryDeferredRevenue
revenues
$4,000;$6,000;$2,000;$8,000
2,000 A40 $4,000$5,000$14,000$9.000
$5,000.00
Cash;Revenues;Inventory;DeferredRevenue
Inventory A41 Cash;Revenues;Inventory;DeferredRevenue
Inventory
33
AccountingTest–DemographicandOpinionQuestions
Pre-testquestions
Question#
Question Answeroptions Participants Answer#
Question15
Haveyouevercompletedanaccountingcourse? Yes,inanMBAprogram;Yes,asanundergraduateorinagraduatedegreeprogramotherthananMBA;No,Ihavenevercompletedanaccountingcourse
Smartly A42
Post-testquestionsQuestion#
Question Answeroptions Participants Answer#
Question15
Doyouthinkthiswasafairassessmentofyouraccountingknowledge? Yes;No SmartlyandMBA
A43
Question15
Whyorwhynot?open-ended
A44
Question16
WhatdidyouthinkoftheSmartlycourseexperience?PleasetellusanythingpositiveornegativeabouttheSmartlycoursesthatyoutook. open-ended
Smartly A45
Question17
HowlikelyisitthatyouwouldrecommendSmartlytoafriendorcolleague? open-ended
A46
34
FinancetestsQuestion1
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
TimeValueofMoney
Discountingmoneyallowsyoutocalculatea__________.
open-ended presentvalueA1 Compoundingmoney
allowsyoutocalculatea__________.
open-ended futurevalue
Question2
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
TimeValueofMoney
Whichoftheaboveformulaecalculatesthepresentvalueofafuturecashflow?
A:CF0x(1+r)nB:CF0xrnC:CFn/(1+r)nD:ern/CFn
CA2 Whichofthe
aboveformulaecalculatesthefuturevalueofapresentcashflow.
A:rn+CF0x(rt-rn)B:CF0x(1+r)nC:CFn/(1+r)nD:CFnxern
B
AA3
C
Question3
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
TimeValueofMoney
Whichoftheexpressionsabovetellsushowmuch$6,000willbein4yearsassumingitgrowsat5%annually?
A:($6,000x1.05)/4B:$6,000x(1.05)4C:1.054/$6,000D:$6,000/1.054
netpresentvalueA4 Whichofthe
expressionsabovetellsushowmuch$4,000wasworth5yearsagoassumingithadgrownat6%annually?
A:($4,000x1.06)/5B:($4,000x(1.06)5C:1.065/$4,000D:$4,000/1.065
D
Question4
35
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Netpresentvalue
Thepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows)isknownas________________.
netpresent;value;grossmargin;revenue;operatingprofit
netpresentvalueA5 Whatisnet
presentvalue?
thepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows);thepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows)minusthepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows);thefuturevalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows);thefuturevalueofcosts(cashoutflows)minusthepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)
thepresentvalueofbenefits(cashinflows)minusthepresentvalueofcosts(cashoutflows)
Question5
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Costofcapital
Matchthesourcewitheachtypeoffunding.[debtfunding]
creditorsowners creditors
A6 Matchthesourcewitheachtypeoffunding.[debtfunding]
creditorsowners owners
ownersA7
creditors
Question6
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Costofcapital
Interestpaymentsdividedbydebtwillcalculateacompany'sbefore-tax__________________.
costofdebt;costofequity;returnondebt;debtmargin
costofdebtA8 Beforetaxesare
factoredin,costofdebtisequalto______________dividedbydebt.
Interestpayments;dividends;principalpayments;netincome;
interestpayments
Question7
36
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Costofcapital
IfBisthecostofdebtbeforetaxesandTistheeffectivetaxrate,whatistheformulaforcomputingtheafter-taxcostofdebt?
BxT;Bx(T-1);Bx(1-T);Tx(B-1)
B×(1−T)A9 IfBisthecostofdebt
beforetaxesandTistheeffectivetaxrate,whatistheformulaforcomputingtheafter-taxcostofdebt?
BxT;Bx(T-1);Bx(1-T);Tx(B-1)
B×(1−T)
Question8
ConceptTested Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Costofcapital Whichofthefollowingismostlikelytobeusedasarisk-freerate?
thegrowthrateoftheeconomyasawhole;the10-yearU.S.TreasuryConstantMaturityRate;theaverageoftenyearsofmonthlyreturnsoftheS&P500;acompany'sbetatimesthegrowthrateofthestockmarketasawhole
the10-yearU.S.TreasuryConstantMaturityRate
A10Sameaspre-test
Question9
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer# Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test) Correctanswers(Post-test)
Costofcapital
Thevolatilityofaparticularstockcomparedtothemarketasawholeisknownas_________________.
alpha(α);
beta(β);
gamma(γ);
delta(δ)
beta(β)A11
Beta(β)isameasureof_________________
howvolatileaparticularstockiscomparedtothemarketasawhole.;changeinthemarketasawholefromdaytoday;changeinthemarketasawholefromthesamedaythepreviousyear;howvolatileaparticularstockiscomparedtoitsperformanceduringthelastquarter
howvolatileaparticularstockiscomparedtothemarketasawhole.
37
Question10
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test) Correctanswers(Post-test)
Capitalassetpricingmodel
Iftherisk-freerateis2%,theexpectedmarketreturnis13%,andβis1.6,whatisthecostofequityusingCAPM?
2%+1.6×(13%−2%)=19.6%;1.6×(13%−2%)=17.6%;1.6%+(13%−2%)=12.6%;13%+1.6×(13%−2%)=30.6%
2%+1.6×(13%−2%)=19.6%
A12 Iftherisk-freerateis3%,theexpectedmarketreturnis13%,andβis0.6,whatisthecostofequityusingCAPM?
3%+0.6×(13%−3%)=9%;0.6×(13%−3%)=6%;0.6%+(13%−3%)=10.6%;13%+0.6×(13%−3%)=19%
3%+0.6×(13%−3%)=9%
Question11
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Costofcapital
Acompanywithahighproportionofdebtissaidtobehighly___________.
leveraged;profitable;solvent;liquid
leveragedA13 Acompanythatishighlyleveraged
hasahighproportionof___________.
debt;equity debt
Question12
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test) Correctanswers(Post-test)
Weightedaveragecostofcapital
Whatistheweightedaveragecostofcapital(WACC)ofacompanythathasaneffectivetaxrateof25%,costofdebtof7%,costofequityof11%,40%equityfinancing,and60%debtfinancing?
(11%×40%)+(7%×60%×75%)=7.55%;(11%×60%)+(7%×40%×75%)=8.70%;(11%×40%)+(7%×60%×25%)=5.45%;(11%×60%)+(7%×40%×25%)=7.30%
(11%×40%)+(7%×60%×75%)=7.55%
A14 Whatistheweightedaveragecostofcapital(WACC)ofacompanythathasaneffectivetaxrateof30%,costofdebtof6%,costofequityof12%,40%debtfinancing,and60%equityfinancing?
(12%×60%)+(6%×40%×70%)=8.88%;(12%×40%)+(6%×60%×70%)=7.32%;(12%×60%)+(6%×40%×30%)=7.92%;(12%×40%)+(6%×60%×30%)=5.88%
(12%×60%)+(6%×40%×70%)=8.88%
38
Question13
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Valuation Whatistheterminalvalue?
thepresentvalueatapointintime(whethernoworinthefuture)ofallcashflowsfromthatpoint;acompany'scostofcapitalweightedaccordingtoitscapitalstructure;thereturninvestorscanexpecttoreceivebyinvestinginthestockmarketasawhole;thetotalmarketvalueofacompany'sassets
thepresentvalueatapointintime(whethernoworinthefuture)ofallcashflowsfromthatpointonwards
A15Sameaspre-test
Question14
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Valuation Usingtheincomestatementaboveandaneffectivetaxrateof26%,calculatethecompany'snetoperatingprofitaftertax(NoPAT).(Thisisalsocallednetoperatingprofitlessadjustedtaxes,orNoPLAT.)
$168,938×(1−26%)=$125,014.12;
($168,938−$24,415)×(1−26%)=$106,947.02;
$70,975×(1−26%)=$52,521.50;
($168,938−$73,548)×(1−26%)=$70,588.60
$168,938×(1−26%)=$125,014.12
A16 Usingtheincomestatementaboveandaneffectivetaxrateof28%,calculatethecompany'snetoperatingprofitaftertax(NoPAT).(Thisisalsocallednetoperatingprofitlessadjustedtaxes,orNoPLAT.)
$956×(1−28%)=$688.75;
($956−$201)×(1−28%)=$543.60;
$518×(1−28%)=$372.96;
($956−$237)×(1−28%)=$517.68
($956−$201)×(1−28%)=$543.60
Question15
ConceptTested
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions(Pre-test)
Correctanswers(Pre-test)
Answer#
Question(Post-test)
Answeroptions(Post-test)
Correctanswers(Post-test)
Valuation IfFCFstandsforfreecashflow,Nistheyearforwhichtheterminalvalueiscalculated,risthediscountrate,andgistheterminalgrowthrate,whichoftheformulaeabovewillcalculatetheterminalvalue?
A:FCFN+1x(r-g)B:FCFN+1x(r+g)C:(FCFN+1)/(r+g)D:(FCFN+1)/(r-g)Note:FCFN+1+FCFNx(1+g)
DA17
Sameaspre-test
39
Finance–DemographicandOpinionquestions
Question16(Pre-testonly)
Question#
Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions Participants Answer#
Question16
Haveyoucompletedfinancialaccountingandcorporatefinance(orequivalentcourses)inanMBAprogram?
Yes,IhavecompletedfinancialaccountinginanMBAprogram;Yes,IhavecompletedcorporatenanceinanMBAprogram.;No,butIhavecompletedfinancialaccountingorcorporatefinanceinanundergraduateorgraduateprogramotherthananMBA.;No,Ihavenotcompletedeitherofthesecourses(ortheirequivalents).
Smartlyonly A18
Question17
HaveyoucompletedanyotherfinancecoursesbesidestheonesaboveinanMBAoranotherprogram? open-ended
A19
Post-testquestions
Question# Question(Pre-test)
Answeroptions Participants Answer#
Question16
Doyouthinkthiswasafairassessmentofyourfinanceknowledge[gainedthroughSmartly]?
Yes;No SmartlyOnly
A20
Question17
Whyorwhynot?open-ended
A19
Question18
WhatdidyouthinkoftheSmartlycourseexperience?PleasetellusanythingpositiveornegativeabouttheSmartlycoursesthatyoutook. open-ended
A20
Question19
HowlikelyisitthatyouwouldrecommendSmartlytoafriendorcolleague? 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
A21
Question18
Weretheretopicscoveredinthisassessmentthatyouwerenotexposedtoduringbusinessschool?
Yes;No MBAOnly
A24
Question19
PleaseexplainmoreOpen-ended
A25
Question20
Haveyoucompletedfinancialaccountingandcorporatefinance(orequivalentcourses)inanMBAprogram?
Yes;
No
A22
Question21
HaveyoucompletedanyotherfinancecoursesbesidestheonesaboveinanMBAoranotherprogram?
Yes;
No
A23
40
AppendixE:Screeners
1. Undergradlocation
2. UndergradSchoolAcceptanceRate
3. Whatisyourname?
4. Whatisyouremailaddress?(Wewillcontactyouatthisemailaddress)-Open-EndedResponse
5. HaveyoustartedorcompletedanycourseonSmartly?
6. Version1-Doyouhaveanundergraduatedegree?Version2&4-Doyouhaveanundergraduatedegreeorareyoucurrentlyenrolledinanundergraduateprogram?
7. Fromwhatuniversitydidyoureceiveyourundergraduatedegree?-Open-EndedResponse
8. Whatyeardidyougraduatefromyourundergraduateprogram?
9. Whatwasyourmajor?-Open-EndedResponse
10. Version1-DoyouhaveanMBA(orareyoucurrentlyenrolled)?ORVersion2&4-HaveyoueverbeenacceptedintoanMBAprogram?
11. Version1-Doyouhaveanon-MBAgraduatedegree?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.ORVersion2&4-DoyouhaveorareyoupursuingagraduatedegreethatisnotanMBA?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.
12. Version1-Doyouhaveanon-MBAgraduatedegree?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.-Pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduationORVersion2&4-DoyouhaveorareyoupursuingagraduatedegreethatisNoTanMBA?Ifyes,pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation.-Pleasespecifyinstitution,degree,subjectstudied,andyearofgraduation
13. HaveyouevercompletedanyaccountingcoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.
14. HaveyouevercompletedanyaccountingcoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.-Pleasespecifycoursesandatwhatinstitutionsthecoursesweretaken.
15. Version4ONLY-HaveyouevercompletedanyfinancecoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.
16. Version4ONLY-HaveyouevercompletedanyfinancecoursesoutsideofanMBAprogram?Ifyes,pleaselistthem,andspecifyatwhichinstitution(s)thecoursesweretaken.-Pleasespecifycoursesandatwhatinstitutionsthecoursesweretaken.
17. Version4ONLY-Howmanyfinancecoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?
18. Version4ONLY-Howmanyfinancecoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?-ThenamesofthefinancecoursesIcompletedare:
41
19. AtwhatuniversitydidyoureceiveorareyoupursuingyourMBA?-Open-EndedResponse
20. WhatisyouryearofgraduationfromyourMBAprogram?
21. Howmanyaccountingcoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?
22. Howmanyaccountingcoursesdidyoucompleteduringbusinessschoolandwhatwerethey?-ThenamesoftheaccountingcoursesIcompletedare:
23. Sincegraduatingfromyourundergraduateinstitution,howmanyyearsofworkexperiencedoyouhave?
24. Whatisyourcurrentposition?-Open-EndedResponse
25. Inwhatcountrydoyoucurrentlylive?
26. Inwhatcountrydoyoucurrentlylive?-Other(pleasespecify)
27. Whatisyourcountryofcitizenship(listallthatapply)?-Open-EndedResponse
28. Whatisyourage?
29. Whatisyourgender?
30. Whichrace/ethnicitybestdescribesyou?(Pleasechooseonlyone.)
31. Whichrace/ethnicitybestdescribesyou?(Pleasechooseonlyone.)-Multipleethnicity/Other(pleasespecify)
42
AppendixF:CourseSyllabi-AccountingI&II(128minutes)
AccountingI
Chapter01:BalanceSheetBasics(31minutes)
Lesson LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 IntroductiontotheBalanceSheet
Assets,liabilities,andequity;Thedual-aspectconcept 7minutes
Lesson2 FundamentalPrinciplesofAccounting
Theentityandmoney-measurementconcepts;Double-entrybookkeeping;Whichitemsyouwouldliketoseeonabalancesheet;Measuringassetsateitherfairvalueorcost
6minutes
Lesson3 AllaboutAssets GroupingassetsintoCurrentandNoncurrentAssetsonthebalancesheet;Currentassets,includingAccountsReceivable,Inventory,andPrepaidExpenses;Noncurrentassets,includingPP&E;Thegoing-currentconcept
6minutes
Lesson4 Liabilities&Equity Currentandnoncurrentliabilities,includingAccountsPayable,BankLoanPayable,andEstimatedTaxLiability;Equity,includingRetainedEarningsandTotalPaid-InCapital.
6minutes
Lesson5 SewYouThinkYouCanKnit:Smartcase
Applywhatyou'velearnedaboutthebalancesheettoanewbusiness 6minutes
Chapter02:ThePracticeofAccounting(37minutes)
Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 Debits&Credits HowtouseT-accountstokeeptrackofeverytransactionabusinessmakes;WheretorecorddebitsandcreditsonaT-account
5minutes
Lesson2 Revenues&Expenses HowtoreadandrecordtransactionsinRevenueandExpenseaccounts
5minutes
Lesson3 IncomeStatements Howtocalculatenetincome;Howtocreateanincomestatement 5minutes
Lesson4 GeneralJournal Howtorecordtransactionsinthegeneraljournal 4minutes
Lesson5 GeneralLedger Howtokeeptrackofallaccountbalanceswiththegeneralledger;Howtotransfertransactionsfromthegeneraljournaltothegeneralledger;Howtocloseoutrevenueandexpenses;Howtocreateabalancesheetandincomestatementusingthegeneralledger
6minutes
Lesson6 PracticeMakesPerfect
Reviewdebitsandcredits,T-accounts,RevenuesandExpenses,journals,andthegeneralledger
6minutes
Lesson7 WrestlingwithAccounts
Applywhatyou'velearnedaboutthebalancesheet,incomestatement,generaljournal,andgeneralledgertoanewbusiness
6minutes
43
AccountingII
Chapter01:RealizingRevenuesandExpenses(27minutes)
Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 Revenueandcash Cashandrevenuedonotmeasurethesamething;Revenuesarerecordedwhentheyarereasonablycertain;revenuesarerealizedwhenproductsaredelivered
6minutes
Lesson2 Expensesandthematchingconcept
Expensesarematchedwiththerevenuestheygenerate;Thedifferencebetweenexpendituresandexpenses.
6minutes
Lesson3 RealizingRevenuesandExpensesovertime
Whentorecognizerevenuesandexpensesthatspanmultipleperiods. 5minutes
Lesson4 Baddebt Howtohandlebaddebt;Makingprovisionfordoubtfulaccounts 6minutes
Lesson5 FurnishingtheAccounts:Smartcase
Areviewoftheconservatism,realization,andmatchingconcepts 4minutes
Chapter02:AccountingforAssets(33minutes)
Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 InventoryandtheCostofGoodSold
Howtocalculatecostofgoodssold(COGS);First-in,first-out(FIFO)versuslast-in,last-out(LIFO)
6minutes
Lesson2 ManufacturingInventory
Howtoaccountforthemanufactureofinventory;Howtoassigncostofinventory
5minutes
Lesson3 Fixedassets&straight-linedepreciation
Reviewnon-currentandtangibleassets;Understandstraight-linedepreciation;Learnhowsalvagevalueaffectsdepreciation
7minutes
Lesson4 Otherdepreciationmethods
Howtouseunits-of-productionandaccelerateddepreciationmethods;Theimplicationsofaccelerateddepreciationandtaxes;Disposaloffixedassets
6minutes
Lesson5 Depletion&Amortization
Learnwhentousedepreciation,depletion,andamortization;Calculatedepletionandamortization
5minutes
Lesson6 GoldenAssets:Smartcase
Reviewtheaccountingofinventoriesanddepreciation 4minutes
44
AppendixG:CourseSyllabi-Finance(111minutes)
Finance:TheTimeValueofMoney
Chapter01:TheTimeValueofMoney(PartI)(24minutes)
Lesson LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 TheTimeValueofMoney
Thevalueofmoneydependsontime;Whatthepresentvalueofacashflowis;Whatthefuturevalueofacashflowis.
5minutes
Lesson2 TheTimeline Basicconventionsusedtosolvetimevalueofmoneyquestions;Howtocreatetimelinesforsolvingtimevalueofmoneyproblems.
6minutes
Lesson3 MovingMoneyThroughTime:Compounding
Thedifferencebetweencompoundinganddiscounting;Howtocalculatethefuturevalue(FV)ofalumpsumofmoneyinoneyear’stime.
6minutes
Lesson4 MovingMoneyThroughTime:Discounting
Howtocalculatethepresentvalue(PV)ofalumpsumofmoneyfromoneyeartothefuture;Howtoquicklydistinguishbetweentheeffectsofcompoundinganddiscounting.
7minutes
Chapter02:TheTimeValueofMoney(PartII)(29minutes)
Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 MovingMoneyForwardOverMultipleYears
Howtosolvefuturevalueproblemsovermultipleyears;Howthecompoundingformulaandtimelinechangewhenmultipleyearsareinvolved.
6minutes
Lesson2 MovingMoneyBackwardOverMultipleYears
Howtosolvepresentvalueproblemsovermultipleyears;Howthediscountingformulaandtimelinechangewhenmultipleyearsareinvolved.
5minutes
Lesson3 MovingCashFlowsThroughTime
Howtomoveaseriesofcashflowstothepresent:Howtomoveaseriesofcashflowstothefuture.
7minutes
Lesson4 NetPresentValue Whatnetpresentvalue(NPV)is;Howtocalculatenetpresentvalue(NPV);Howtousenetpresentvalue(NPV)tomakeinvestmentdecisions
7minutes
Lesson5 FairTradeFinance(SMARTCASE)
Reviewthebasicconceptsformovingmoneythroughtime;HowtouseTVMconceptstomakeinvestmentdecisions.
4minutes
45
CostofCapitalI-CapitalStructure
Chapter01-CostofCapital(23minutes)
Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 CostofDebt Whatcostofdebtis;Variablesthatinfluencethecostofdebt;Howtocomputethecostofdebt.
6minutes
Lesson2 CostofEquity Whatcostofequityis;Therelationshipbetweenriskandreward;Variablesthatinfluencethecostofequity;UsingtheCapitalAssetPricingModeltoestimatecostofequity.
6minutes
Lesson3 CapitalStructureandWACC
Whatcapitalstructureis;Howtocalculatetheweightedaveragecostofcapital;HowcompaniesandinvestorsuseWACCtodetermineinvestmentplans.
7minutes
Lesson4 CapitalConstruction(SMARTCASE)
Reallifeapplicationsofthecostofdebt,costofequity(CAPM),capitalstructure,andWeightedAverageCostofCapitalformulas.
4minutes
ValuationI-DiscountedFreeCashFlow
Chapter01-DiscountedFreeCashFlowValuation(35minutes)
Lesson# LessonTitle Conceptstaught Estimatedtimetocomplete
Lesson1 DiscountedFreeCashFlowValuation
Basicstepsforfreecashflowvaluation 5minutes
Lesson2 FreeCashFlow Whatfreecashflowis;Whyweusefreecashflowindiscountedcashflow(DCF)valuation.
5minutes
Lesson3 CalculatingFreeCashFlow Howtocalculatefreecashflow;Howtocalculatenetoperatingprofitaftertax;Wheretofindrelevantfreecashflowinformationonacompany’sfinancialstatements.
7minutes
Lesson4 ForecastingFreeCashFlow Howtoforecastfreecashflow;Howtouseamulti-stagegrowthforecast;Howtocalculateterminalvalue.
6minutes
Lesson5 FreeCashFlowValuation Learntodiscountfreecashflowstothepresent;UseWACCinafreecashflowvaluation.
6minutes
Lesson6 HowMuchIsThatCatintheCatalog?(SMARTCASE)
Testyourknowledgeofdiscountedfreecashflowvaluation 6minutes
46
AppendixH:Fairassessmentofsubjectmatterknowledge?-Studentcomments
MBAAccountingparticipantcomments
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes Allofthequestionswererelevanttogeneralaccounting. MBAAcctgStudent27
Yes Basicknowledgefocusedaroundcredit,debit,assets,liabilities,andretainedearnings.Onlyconcernisifyoudidnotrecallwhichsidepossessedthecreditsandwhichthedebitsyoucouldreversemostoftheexam
MBAAcctgStudent37
Yes Basicquestionsaskedalthoughsomepartsofmyknowledgeneededtoberefreshed.
MBAAcctgStudent41
Yes Becauseitcoveredawidevarietyofquestionsandtheinformationwaspresentedclearly.
MBAAcctgStudent34
Yes ConsistenttotopicslearnedalthoughIamrusty.Basiclevelaccountingmetricsandassessment.Thankyou!
MBAAcctgStudent17
Yes coveredbasicaccountingprinciplesthatwe'dlearned MBAAcctgStudent29
Yes CoveredmostallofthegeneralaccountingknowledgethatwastaughtinmyMBAaccountingcourse.
MBAAcctgStudent50
Yes coverstopicsreviewedinclass;formatofsomequestionsischallengingtofollowanddifferentthantypicalformatinclass.
MBAAcctgStudent33
Yes Diditoffthetopofmyhead MBAAcctgStudent15
Yes Fair,clearquestions. MBAAcctgStudent14
Yes Feltcomprehensiveandstraightforward MBAAcctgStudent40
Yes Forapersonwhotookonlyseveralaccountingcourses,thisassessmentisfairbecausetheyarenottrickyquestions.
MBAAcctgStudent20
Yes GreatQuestions MBAAcctgStudent42
Yes Havingtakenaccountingcoursesbefore,Iwassomewhatfamiliarwiththetermsandconcepts.EvenifIwasunfamiliarwiththetermsandconcepts,thiswouldhavebeenafairassessmentasIwouldimmediatelyknowwhatareasIneedtodevelop.
MBAAcctgStudent49
Yes Iamnotanaccountant,socanonlyanswerthemostbasicaccountingquestionswithoutreferences.Lackofpracticehasledtosomeerosion.
MBAAcctgStudent32
Yes Iguess,itisbesttotestknowledgewhenyouarenotjustrammingitupandtryingtounderstandtheconcepts.Thisconceptualcheckwasgood.Betterwouldbeifigettoknowhowiperformedandwhichareasineedtofocusmoreon.
MBAAcctgStudent12
Yes IhaveanaccountantandCFOforthis;) MBAAcctgStudent38
Yes Irecognizedalltheterms MBAAcctgStudent26
Yes Irememberedsomethings,andforgotothers.SoIwouldsayitwasfair. MBAAcctgStudent11
47
MBAAccountingparticipantcomments(cont’d)
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes IntermsoftheMBAfirst-semestercorefinanceclass,yes;however,managerialaccounting(ratherthanthefundamentalsofT-accounts,etc.)seemstobemoreofanemphasis
MBAAcctgStudent36
Yes ItansweredquestionsthatIshould'velearnedinmyaccountingclass. MBAAcctgStudent19
Yes Itaskedaboutconceptsimportanttoaccounting,especiallythosethataremostfrequentlyappliedinreal-worldsettingsofreadingfinancialsandanalyzingaccountingtransactions.Theonlythingmissingwastestingmyunderstandingofwhatgoesintodifferentfinancialstatements(e.g.,incomestatement,cashflowstatement,etc.).
MBAAcctgStudent35
Yes itaskedthefundamentalsthatIlearnedinAccountingI MBAAcctgStudent45
Yes ItcoveredallthebasicaspectsonAccountinginasuccinctway. MBAAcctgStudent7
Yes itcoveredmanyconcepts MBAAcctgStudent48
Yes ItcoveredthetopicsIlearnedduringthelastquarter,andIwasabletoanswerwithreasonablelevelofconfidence.
MBAAcctgStudent23
Yes Itcoversthebasicaccountingconceptsoneshouldknow. MBAAcctgStudent43
Yes Itseemsprettyfairforashort,basicassessment.However,itdoesnotcovermanyoftheotherconceptslearnedinaccounting.
MBAAcctgStudent46
Yes Ittestedbasicaccountingprinciples MBAAcctgStudent8
Yes Itwasafairlygoodassessmentbutintherealworld,onecanalwaysrefertothebasicsagain.
MBAAcctgStudent30
Yes Itwasbasicaccounting,butfairasageneralassessment. MBAAcctgStudent16
Yes Itwasdifficulttounderstandhowtheimagesneededtobeexplainedinafewofthequestions,otherthanthatyes.
MBAAcctgStudent21
Yes Questionsincludedcoveredavarietyoftopics,assessingmyfoundationalknowledgeofaccounting.
MBAAcctgStudent6
Yes RememberingaccountprinciplesoffthetopofmyheadweredifficultbecauseIwasnotanaccountingmajor.SinceIwasunabletorefertonotesorothersources,ittookmelongertorespondtoquestions.However,thisassessmentwasarefresherofwhatIneedtolearnandapplyduringandaftermyMBAprogram.
MBAAcctgStudent10
Yes SeemedlikebasicquestionsbutnotsurprisedIdidn'trememberalltheconceptsfrommycoresemesterclass.It'spartofacurriculumthatmakesmelearntheverybasicsandI'veretainedsomebutnotenoughprobably.Ithinkonemoredeeperlevelclasswouldhavemadesenseformytotalcurriculum.
MBAAcctgStudent28
Yes Someeasy,someneedtothink MBAAcctgStudent51
48
MBAAccountingparticipantcomments(cont’d)
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes Testedbalancesheetandbasicjournalentries MBAAcctgStudent44
Yes Theywereallconceptsthathadbeencoveredandthatshouldbeunderstoodifyou'vetakenanintroductoryaccountingclass
MBAAcctgStudent13
Yes Thistestedmeonvariousaspectsofaccounting. MBAAcctgStudent47
Yes uptothepar MBAAcctgStudent5
Yes Verybasicknowledgeinaccounting MBAAcctgStudent22
Yes Veryfocusedont-acounnts,whichwaslessafocusofourclass,butstilluseful MBAAcctgStudent24
Yes well,noteveryactuallyusestheTmethod,orweneverlearneditinclass,butIthinktheorganizationandjournalentryquestionswerefair
MBAAcctgStudent31
Yes Yes,becauseallofthisiscontentthatIhavecoveredinmyintroaccountingcourse(buthavenotrememberedeverything!).
MBAAcctgStudent18
No Ididn'tstudy MBAAcctgStudent39
No Istudiedaccountingwiththecasemethod,learningtomaketoughjudgmentsaboutuniqueaccountingsituationsthatactualcompaniesface.Idon'trememberTaccounts,butIdorememberprinciplesthatwouldbeappliedinactualsituations.
MBAAcctgStudent4
No Itfocusedalittletoomuchonbookkeeping,notmanagementaccounting.Idon'trememberwhichsideofa"T"accountdoeswhat!TheMBAaccountingknowledgeismoreabouthowtorecordrevenues/expenses,howtoreadfinancialstatements,assessacompany'sfinancialhealth,etc.ItfeltlikethereweretoomanyquestionsaboutLITERALLYrecordingtheseinthebooks.
MBAAcctgStudent9
No NeverlearnedFIFO/LIFO;Irememberoverallaccountingconceptsrelevanttodoingbusiness,butnottheformatsforjournalentriesverywellanymore
MBAAcctgStudent25
No Someofthequestionswerepoorlyworded.ItwasnotclearwhatIwassupposedtoanswer.
MBAAcctgStudent1
No There'smuchmoretoitthanrememberingeasy-to-referenceformulasbyheart. MBAAcctgStudent2
49
SmartlyAccountingparticipantscomments
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes AllquestionswereverysimilartotheSmartlymodulesandseemedtobeafairoveralltestofknowledge.
SmartlyAcctgStudent31
Yes Becausehonestly,withmyeducationandexperience,Ididn'tknowadamnedthingaboutaccountingbeforethiscourse.
SmartlyAcctgStudent22
Yes Coveredfullrangeoftopics SmartlyAcctgStudent14
Yes Everythingtestedinthequizwastaughtinthelectureseries.Thankyou,thiswasaveryhelpfultooltogivemeabasicunderstandingofaccounting!
SmartlyAcctgStudent12
Yes Havingnobackgroundknowledge,Ihaveappliedthelearningfromthe2.5-3hoursofonlinelessonsonly.Hence,theassessmentwasfair
SmartlyAcctgStudent28
Yes Icompletedtheassesmentaloneandwithouttheuseofstudymaterials SmartlyAcctgStudent23
Yes Ididnotrefertoexternalresourcesandthoughtcarefullyabouteachquestion. SmartlyAcctgStudent25
Yes Ihavenothadathoroughaccountinglessoninmanyyears,sogoingthroughthecourseandtakingthispost-examshowsmycurrentunderstandingofwhatIretained.
SmartlyAcctgStudent2
Yes Ilearnedalotfromthecourseandappliedtomybestofability. SmartlyAcctgStudent29
Yes IrecognizedalltopicsIwasaskedabout. SmartlyAcctgStudent9
Yes IthinkithitonmostofthetopicsthatIhadlearnedthroughouttheclasses,andtheclassescomprisedmostofmyknowledge.
SmartlyAcctgStudent4
Yes Ithinkittestedtheconceptswell.Idon'treallygettheframingoftheLIFO/FIFOquestion,though. SmartlyAcctgStudent7
Yes Itcoveredmostofwhatthecoursescovered,andIimprovedalotfromstarttofinish. SmartlyAcctgStudent8
Yes ItcoveredtheconceptscoveredintheaccountingcoursesItookonSmartly. SmartlyAcctgStudent18
Yes Itfocusedonthehighlightsofwhatwelearnedinclass. SmartlyAcctgStudent16
Yes Itreferstosomeconceptofaccountingandsomeexamples. SmartlyAcctgStudent33
Yes Itwascomprehensiveandincludedrealisticexamples,similartowhatoneworkinginaccountingwouldhave.
SmartlyAcctgStudent32
Yes Mostofthequestionswerestraightforward SmartlyAcctgStudent3
Yes Questionswerebasedontopicslearnt. SmartlyAcctgStudent30
50
SmartlyAccountingparticipantscomments(cont’d)
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes Relevantandchallengingquestionswereaskedtotestknowledgegainedfromthecourseware. SmartlyAcctgStudent21
Yes Similartocoursequestionswhichismyonlybasisforassessingaccountingknowledge SmartlyAcctgStudent24
Yes Simpleandconcise SmartlyAcctgStudent1
Yes TheclassesthroughSmartlyaremyonlyexposuretoaccounting.Irecognizetheconceptsintheassessmentfromtheblocksoninstruction,howeverIthinkitissafetosayIdidn'tmastertheconcepts.
SmartlyAcctgStudent15
Yes Thequestionsaskedexactlywhatwelearnedfromthecourse. SmartlyAcctgStudent26
Yes Thequestionscoveredawiderangeofaccountingtopics. SmartlyAcctgStudent19
Yes ThequestionswerebasedonthefundamentalaccountingcourseworkthatIlearnt SmartlyAcctgStudent27
Yes Thequestionswerenottootrickyandaccuratelycorrespondedtotheknowledgelearnedduringthelessons.
SmartlyAcctgStudent6
Yes TheSmartlycoursewascomprehensiveandpreparedmewell SmartlyAcctgStudent34
Yes Thiswasadecentassessment,butmyonlycommentisthatIhavealreadyseenthesequestionseitherintheSmartlymaterialorinthepre-assessmentmaterial.Newquestionsmightbeamorefairassessment,butachallengewouldbeassessingwhetherimprovementwasmade.
SmartlyAcctgStudent10
No Ihavenothadtoapplyitinahuman-to-humaninteraction.MyknowledgeiscircumstantialandIwouldnotfeelconfidentsharingthisknowledgeinreallife.
SmartlyAcctgStudent5
No IonlywrotenobecauseIdon'tlikeyesornoquestions.Ithinka"rating"questionwouldbebetter.Ithoughtforthemostpartitwasafairassessment.However,there'salotmoreofmaterialthatwasnotcovered.
SmartlyAcctgStudent11
No Ithinkit'sprettyspecifictotheSmartlytestenvironment.IthinktherearealotofthingsthatIknowthroughexperiencethatweren'texploredorcapturedhere,butsomemoretechnicalthingslikeLIFOvs.FIFOthatIwasunfamiliarwiththatare.
SmartlyAcctgStudent17
No I'mstillabitconfusedontheconcepts. SmartlyAcctgStudent20
No Yesandno.Whilethisassessmentaddressedthebasics,IdonotbelieveittackledthemorechallenginglessonslearnedinPart2ofthestudymaterials.
SmartlyAcctgStudent13
51
MBAFinanceparticipantcomments
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes Basicknowledge MBAFinanceStudent52
Yes Covereddecentamountoftopics MBAFinanceStudent49
Yes Iagreewithresult.Questionswereformulatedwell,perhapstooeasyforafinancemajor MBAFinanceStudent44
Yes Ihonestlydon'treallyrememberthetest MBAFinanceStudent29
Yes Itassessedbasicbuildingconceptsoffinancethatshouldbelearntduringintroductorycourses. MBAFinanceStudent23
Yes Itcapturedtheessentialsanyfinanceprofessionalshouldknow..Ofcourse,thisonlyscratchesthesurface,butyoumanagedtocapturetheessentials.
MBAFinanceStudent1
Yes Itcoveredagreatdealofinformationthatwasactuallyrelevanttowhathasbeenlearned.deal MBAFinanceStudent14
Yes Itcoveredbasicprinciples. MBAFinanceStudent38
Yes Ittestedavarietyofconceptscoveredinmbacoursework MBAAcctgStudent6
Yes ItwasrepresentativeofwhatIlearnedinmyfinancecourses. MBAFinanceStudent27
Yes SeemedtoaskthesametypesofquestionsthatwewereaskedtolearnduringtheMBA.However,sometimesthequestionswerephrasedalittleconfusingly.Thosequestionswereprobablylessaccurateassessmentsofmyknowledge.
MBAFinanceStudent25
Yes Seemedtoaskveryspecificquestionstargetedatassessingtheleveltheresponderunderstandsordoesnotunderstandfinance,rangingfromeasytohardquestions,soyeahithoughtitwasfair.
MBAFinanceStudent54
Yes Similarquestionsdemonstratedincoursematerial MBAFinanceStudent30
Yes Theassessmentevaluatedbasicfinancialconcepts. MBAFinanceStudent24
Yes Thequestionitselfwassimplebutrequirecertainknowledgeaboutfinance. MBAFinanceStudent16
Yes Thequestionshavecoveredmostofthecorporatefinance MBAFinanceStudent18
Yes ThequestionsmadesensetomeandIthinkshouldbeabaseleavel MBAFinanceStudent42
Yes Thequestionsspannedabroadrange MBAFinanceStudent37
No Financeismoreaboutconceptualknowledgethanjustnumbers..Thisassessmentconcentratedmoreonquantitativestuff.
MBAFinanceStudent35
52
MBAFinanceparticipantcomments(cont’d)
Fair? Comment Participant
No Ifeltthequestion'swerereallybasic.Ifit'ssupposedtomeasurebasicfinanceskills,spoton.Butoverallforsomeoneinfinanceitdoesn'tgiveproperassessmentasitwastoobasicandeasy.
MBAFinanceStudent7
No itaskedtheoriesanddefinitions MBAFinanceStudent46
No Itlookedmoreatspecificsinsteadofgeneralprinciples MBAFinanceStudent4
No ItwastooBasic MBAFinanceStudent39
No Questioncouldhavebeenharder MBAFinanceStudent43
No Tobehonest,Ican'tremember.IdothinkthatStanford'sfinancecurriculumiswhollyinadequateandstultifying.
MBAFinanceStudent50
No Tooeasy MBAFinanceStudent9
53
SmartlyFinanceparticipantcomments
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes Allconceptswerecoveredinthelessons SmartlyFinanceStudent25
Yes BecauseItriedashardIcould.ButIamreallybadatthisstuff.Istilllearnedabit. SmartlyFinanceStudent39
Yes Coveredthetopics,majorconceptsandmethodologies SmartlyFinanceStudent34
Yes Iperformedbetterthanthefirsttest,andSmartlywasmyonlyinfluenceonthedifferenceinmyknowledge.
SmartlyFinanceStudent43
Yes IreallylikedhowIwasabletogethints,usemykeyboardentirelyandbeexposedtohelpfulandrelatableexamples.
SmartlyFinanceStudent13
Yes Irecognizedalotoftheterms.Theonlyissuewasmemorizingtheformulas,whichIdidn'tdo! SmartlyFinanceStudent11
Yes Irecognizedallofthetermsandequationsthatwerepresentedinthisquiz.Ididn'tnecessarilystudymynotesdiligentlybeforetakingthispost-assessment,though;IwouldhavedonebetterhadIstudiedasifitwereanactualclassorexam.
SmartlyFinanceStudent6
Yes Ithinkgivingusthesamequestionsbeforeandafterthecoursesisausefulwaytotestwhatwelearnedinthemiddle
SmartlyFinanceStudent22
Yes IthinkitaccuratelycoveredmostofthematerialthatwastaughtthroughSmartly! SmartlyFinanceStudent19
Yes Iwasablankslateforfinanceknowledge.SoanythingIhaveorhavenotlearnedcamedirectlyfromthisplatform!
SmartlyFinanceStudent10
Yes IwaspleasantlysurprisedthattheanswersIhadzeroclueaboutinthepre-assessment,Inowunderstood.
SmartlyFinanceStudent36
Yes itadequatelytestedallthetopicsandformulaeIjustlearnedthroughSmartly SmartlyFinanceStudent15
Yes ItaskedquestionsdirectlyrelatedtotheSmartlymaterial. SmartlyFinanceStudent1
Yes Itreviewedthematerialexactlyaspresented. SmartlyFinanceStudent4
Yes IttestedtheformulasIlearned.Idothinkthatyoushouldtestwhattheconceptsactuallymean. SmartlyFinanceStudent3
Yes Itwasdefinitelyfair.IthinkthattheSmartlycoursesdidnotaskforenoughanswerstoquestionswithouttheir"trick"support...ie:green/yellowfontleftroomforguessing...
SmartlyFinanceStudent7
Yes I'vegonethroughthecoursesinashorttimeandcompletedthetestwithnohelpfromoutsidesources.
SmartlyFinanceStudent20
54
SmartlyFinanceparticipantcomments(cont’d)
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes Questionscoveredthematerialinthelessons SmartlyFinanceStudent21
Yes QuestionswerebasedontopicscoveredinSmartlycourses.Coursewasknowledgeableandenjoyable.
SmartlyFinanceStudent16
Yes Similarquestionformattothelessons. SmartlyFinanceStudent23
Yes SinceIdidn'tspecificallyprepareforit,itreflectsaccuratelytheextenttowhichIwouldbeabletorelyonthistraininginthefuture.
SmartlyFinanceStudent14
Yes TheassessmentallowedmetoshowwhichequationswhoseunderlyingrelationshipsIunderstood.IprobablygottheanswerswrongforquestionswhereIdidn'tfullyunderstandtheconcepttaughtthroughSmartly.
SmartlyFinanceStudent8
Yes TheassessmentcoverswhatIlearnfromthecourses. SmartlyFinanceStudent38
Yes TheassessmentquestionssumuptheSmartlycourses SmartlyFinanceStudent37
Yes Thecontentwasgenerallythesame. SmartlyFinanceStudent2
Yes Thecoursesweregoodbutattimestheywentquickly SmartlyFinanceStudent40
Yes Thematerialwascoveredinthelessons. SmartlyFinanceStudent17
Yes ThequestionsarebasedontheonlinecoursesIlearnedonSmartly. SmartlyFinanceStudent41
Yes Thequestionspertainedtothemateriallearnedthroughtheonlinemodules.Thesequestionswerenottoodifficult,butalsodidnotgiveawaytheanswers.
SmartlyFinanceStudent31
Yes Thequestionsweresimilartotheonesinthetraining SmartlyFinanceStudent29
Yes Thiscoveredpartsfromeachofthedifferentchapters/courses. SmartlyFinanceStudent35
Yes wentoverwhatthecoursesit SmartlyFinanceStudent5
Yes Yesbecausealltopicsquestionedwerecovered.IthinkIgotafewoftheproblemswrongwhereIhadtoapplyrealnumberstoformulasIhadpreviouslylearnedasIamstillnot100%familiarwitheachformula.
SmartlyFinanceStudent12
Yes Yes,itwaslessdifficultthanIthoughtitwouldbe SmartlyFinanceStudent28
55
SmartlyFinanceparticipantcomments(cont’d)
Fair? Comment Participant
Yes yes.Ilearnedalot SmartlyFinanceStudent9
Yes Reviewoflessons SmartlyFinanceStudent42
No BecausethequestionsseemsverysimpleandsimilartoSmartlycontent.Itfeltlikethecoursetaughttothetest.
SmartlyFinanceStudent18
No Iwasabletofiguresomeoutfromtheanswers,buthonestlywouldnotbeabletothinkofitandeverythingaformulameanswithouttheanswer.
SmartlyFinanceStudent26
No Iworkedininvestmentbankingforalmosttwoyears SmartlyFinanceStudent33
No Morecalculationexamples,aswehadtroughclassescouldhavebeenincludedhere,like"realcase"examples.
SmartlyFinanceStudent30
No Simplytakingacourseonlinewithoutanyextrastudytimedoesnotaccuratelyreflectmyabilitytotakeinandlearninformation.Thequestionsinthefinalassessmentwereverydetailed.Itishardtorememberthesedetailsfromjusttakinganonlinecourseonce.
SmartlyFinanceStudent24
No Someoftheassesmentquestionswerepurelycommonsense.InPart3,Iwouldhavelovedtosolveoneofthecasesagainwhichwouldhavetrainedmefurtheronpracticalapplications.Also,Part3wasexactlythesameasPart1whichmeansIalreadyknewthecommonsenseanswerstomanyproblems.
SmartlyFinanceStudent27
No Thereshouldbecasebasedquestions SmartlyFinanceStudent32