The effects of instructional fading using completion problems on student performance were investigated in this study. Instructional fading is the gradual withdrawal of the amount of assistance provided to the student and was accomplished in this study using completion problems. They were used to gradually transition the student from completely worked out accounting problems which provided the entire solution to the student to conventional accounting problems which required the student to provide a complete solution. In addition to the faded instruction using completion problems, students had answer explanations which provided an explanation of the required accounting concepts and how they interrelated to answer the problem. The results of the study indicate that the treatment group had higher percent increase scores than did the control group. To further analyze the data, the researcher divided the control group and treatment group into lower and higher prior knowledge groups. Students in the lower prior knowledge treatment group outperformed students in the higher prior knowledge treatment group, students in the lower prior knowledge control group, and students in the higher prior knowledge control group. When considered together, these findings suggest that the instructional treatment had a positive effect on student performance in accounting principles instruction and students with a lower prior knowledge of accounting benefited the most from the instructional fading using completion problems instructional treatment. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]