By the time a student is in Intermediate Accounting I, there are high expectations by the professors and the accounting department. It is our understanding we are to be able to use our knowledge of accounting gained from Frameworks and Principles and apply that knowledge to new material presented.  This is not an unreasonable expectation.  However, when an exam is given where more than 75% of the class fails the exam, and the average grade is well less than 50%, there is obviously an issue that should be addressed within not just the class, but at the department level as well.

There will always be students who do not study either enough, or at all, and rightly so, earn their low scores.  In this situation, certainly some of the 75%+ fall into that category, but the vast majority of those who failed were students who attended class, worked the problems, and studied very hard knowing this test would be difficult. 

It is our belief that a 75%+ failure rate proves unequivocally that there is a disconnect in what is expected and the level in which the vast majority of the students are prepared; that there is a gap between teaching and testing. Going forward, it may be prudent to have entry exams in order to register for Intermediate I and perhaps offer a review-style class or even a Frameworks II class offered
for those not ready for Intermediate I.

Perhaps if more than a certain percent of the class fails an exam, a second exam could be given as a re-take, with different questions, preceded by a review session done by the professors to bridge the gap.  Professors could also help by giving problems to work that are of similar style and difficulty to what could expect on the exams, as while we were certainly expecting harder questions than what we had done in class, the questions on the exam were well above a level or two of higher difficulty. While many of us know how to do what
we did in class and on the quizzes, the exam questions were so complex and involved so many steps, we simply could not manage the problems.

Additionally, if partial credit were a consideration, the fail rate would have been much less.   Many of the questions had several parts and if one part was missed, the whole problem was wrong. 

The suggestion by the professors was to drop the class if the score was less than 50%, but this is unacceptable for several reasons.  For many, this not only incurs a high monetary cost of having to retake the class, but affects student loans, grants, and scholarships. Health insurance may also be affected because the student is no longer full time.  For those scheduled to graduate later this year, this may add an additional semester or cause a student to overload another semester preventing any possibility of internships or jobs.

The University of Texas, Austin, has a policy of using the bell curve in their grading.  That allows students to maintain high GPA’s by allowing them to switching to a pass/fail instead of a letter grade. They are ranked higher in accounting than the University of Houston, but the issue is that their system does not properly show what they know, but only their ranking in the class based on test scores.  As Bauer students, we do not want that system even considered. We strongly feel that we are better for the knowledge we gain at the Bauer College and are not looking for an easy way out.  On the other hand, students are in a tight spot because of the current situation.

We respectfully request careful consideration of the situation at hand and ask for assistance in finding an acceptable solution. 

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