Impacts of Prerequisite Proficiency on Student Performance in a Core Business Economics Course

Abstract

We examine student performance in the managerial economics course in the context of the course prerequisites. To address an issue of the overlap in content between the managerial economics course and the Principles of Microeconomics course, we consider additional academic factors such as grade point average and students’ class standing. This study utilizes both multiple regression analysis and two-tailed Pearson correlation tests. Our main findings show that students’ performance in the managerial economics course is better explained by their overall academic performance such as GPAs, analytical skills, and students’ class standing. However, students’ grades in the Principles of Microeconomics course were not a statistically significant predictor of student performance in the managerial economics course even in the presence of a high degree of content overlap between the courses.