Location Does Not Have To Be Destiny: Student Evaluation And Integrity Controls In A Management Accounting Class

As accounting education transitions to more distance-learning formats, the integrity of student evaluation continues to serve as an obstacle to adoption. Greater technological possibilities will be opposed if faculty members believe that testing is compromised. This article investigates whether students taking exams remotely (and under no surveillance) performed better than students taking exams under conventional exam security. The results suggest an equivalent degree of achievement. The lack of human-based integrity controls over students taking exams did not produce a situation where grades were no longer accurate manifestations of student abilities. Although the results may be the results of the specific testing environment that was in use, they are encouraging for the proliferation of distance education in the accounting discipline. Integrity controls can be designed into the programs that administer the assessment. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC