(Posted 3-17-00)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News Service Contact: Steve Gilliam, 336-334-5371
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UNCG GETS CONTRACT FOR RESEARCH
ON COMPUTERIZATION OF CPA EXAM
GREENSBORO--Educational measurement specialists at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro have received a contract of $240,000 to help computerize the uniform certified public accountant examination, recognized as one of the toughest professional tests around.
The four-year contract, which will total $240,000, was awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Leading the research will be Dr. Richard Luecht, a professor and interim chair of the Department of Educational Research Methodology in the UNCG School of Education. Luecht and two co-investigators will be doing validation studies on computerizing the CPA examinations, along with gauging quality and appropriateness of new types of questions to be included.
In addition to UNCG, two other institutions--the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign--are receiving $240,000 contracts to work on the project. These institutions will collaborate to do four research studies during the 2000-2001 year.
The CPA exam lasts 15-and-a-half hours and is taken over a two-day period, Luecht said. It covers four areas of professional practice: auditing; financial accounting and reporting; accounting and reporting--taxation, managerial government and not-for-profit organizations; and business law and professional responsibilities.
"Computers have been used in the field of accounting for some time, and the AICPA sees the need to convert the national examination," said Luecht. "Computerizing the exam will allow new types of testing, such as the use of on-line spreadsheets, that couldn't be done with the paper-and-pencil test. It will provide a lot of options that will reflect current practices in both accounting field work and education."
Working with Luecht be Dr. Terry Ackerman and Dr. Lloyd Bond, who are faculty members in the Department of Educational Research Methodology. Two graduate students, Teresa Brumfield and Vinaya Kelkar, also will work on the project.
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