The impact of TOEFL scores on placement and performance of international students in the initial graduate accounting class

Abstract

This paper examines, in a US context, the relationship between performance in the initial required graduate financial accounting class and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) scores for a sample of international MBA students. Other variables that have been shown in the past to be associated with superior performance in that class for other samples are also considered for this international sample. These relationships have not been analysed by any previous studies. The results show that TOEFL scores are not associated with superior performance in graduate accounting for the international students. The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) score is the factor most associated with superior performance in graduate-level accounting for international students. This result is consistent with the result reported in Krausz et al. (Advances in Accounting Education, 3(3), 169–177, 2000) for a sample of domestic US students.