Scoreboard for Excel: The Design and Implementation of Software to Advance Active Learning, Automate Grading, and Reduce Cheating
Mary B. Sasmaz, Raymond D. Frost, Ellen R. Gordon, Lauren Kenyo, Vic Matta, Madelyn E. Raisch · Issues in Accounting Education · 2025
ABSTRACT This study discusses the design and implementation of software to advance active learning, automate grading, and reduce cheating. The software, Scoreboard for Excel, enables faculty to author assignments that provide real-time formative feedback efficiently, even in large class sizes. Scoreboard automatically converts existing Excel workbooks into real-time self-grading assignments. Scoreboard assignments provide real-time formative feedback so students can fix their mistakes and learn from them. Additionally, it combats cheating by creating unique versions of the workbook for each student. The system was designed using the design science research methodology. Following its introduction, we will provide the outcomes of an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved classroom experiment conducted to test the efficacy of Scoreboard. Our analysis shows that it positively affects student performance and experience. Scoreboard leverages Excel to improve education in beginning or advanced accounting curricula. Scoreboard is free for noncommercial educational purposes. JEL Classifications: A22; M49; I21; I29.