This study evaluates the correlations between academic performance and the reading
prowess of Executive MBA students in South Africa. The analysis peruses reading ability
and academic performance of the first-year students from 2012 to 2015 of an Association
of MBAs business school. A total of 63 students voluntarily participated in having their
reading ability tested. The results showed that South African MBA students do not read
as well as their international counterparts. Strong correlations were identified between the
reading ability and the academic performance of South African MBA students. The
analyses showed that not only does good reading ability correlate positively with
academic performance, but that poor reading ability does also correlate positively with
poor academic performance. Also, the study found that although academic modules may
differ in nature (such as financial versus theoretical content), they are strongly positive
correlated, indicating that academic performance in one module should indicate success
in other modules.