Predictions of Performance Compared to Actual: A Hard Lesson for First-Year Accounting Students

Abstract

The importance of students’ own assessment of their performance remains a neglected area and is worthy of further study. This paper focuses on students in the first six weeks of a Year 1 introductory financial accounting course and their predictions of grades they would achieve in their mid-term examinations. A questionnaire one week prior to the examinations focused on their studying habits and grade predictions. A second questionnaire after the mid-term examination results revealed that students were overly optimistic in their grade predictions. Their actual results led to a statistically significant increase in time spent studying but not class attendance.