Can business and economics students perform elementary arithmetic?
Business and economics majors (N=146) were tested on the D'Amore Test of Elementary Arithmetic, which employs third-grade test items from 1932. Only 40% of the subjects passed the test by answering 10 out of 10 items correctly. Self-predicted scores were a good predictor of actual scores, but performance was not associated with demographic variables, grades in calculus courses, liking for science or computers, or mathematics anxiety. Scores decreased over the subjects' initial years on campus. The hardest test item, with an error rate of 23%, required the subject to evaluate (36 x 7) + (33 x 7). The results are similar to those of Standing in 2006, despite methodological changes intended to maximize performance.
Standing
Lionel G
LG
Department of Psychology, Bishop's University, Lennoxville, QC, Canada. lstandin@ubishops.ca
Sproule
Robert A
RA
Leung
Ambrose
A
D003132:Commerce; D004467:Economics; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D008433:Mathematics; D011361:Professional Competence; D013334:Students