Does a Students Quality of Work Reflect Grade Inflation

Does a Students Quality of Work Reflect Grade Inflation

Melissa Isom

Northeastern State University

Abstract

In a grade inflation survey conducted at Northeaster State University, a sample of 184 students in and Experimental Psychology course enrolled over several semesters. Students were asked to rate their performance of work, expected grade and actual grade. This was later compared in two t tests, revealing a significant degree of grade inflation indicating, students have higher expectations for an expected grade while putting in lower quality of work.

Does a Students Quality of Work Reflect Grade Inflation

Imagine you are in class and your teacher hands you back a graded test that you recently took, and you received a C grade. You feel as if you were well prepared for the test but only received an “average” grade. As anyone who prepared properly beforehand for the test would expect a high grade, and someone that did not would expect a low grade. This would cause one

to wonder if student’s expectations of grades correlate to their work.  

As one would expect, the time one spends on homework and preparing for tests should reflect on a person’s actual grade, so the more time spent on homework assignments and preparation should improve one’s achievement (Keith, 1982). Research has shown that a persons expected grade vs their actual grade shows a significance difference. Previous research has noted that students that perform average work, and see their work as being average, self-report higher grades such as a B or A’s although they stated that a C is an average grade (Landrum, 1999). Many researches shows a differences in study time showed a small but consistent effect on school achievement (Keith, 1982). So why are students expecting higher grades for minimal work? (Twenge, 2012) found that, compared to those of previous generations, recent American college students are more likely to view themselves as above average on attributes such as academic ability, drive to achieve, leadership ability, self-confidence, and writing ability. In resent study’s, students reporting average work 72.2% expect a grade higher than a C (Landrum, 1999). Mean self-evaluations on drive to achieve are negatively correlated with hours spent studying (Twenge, 2012).

        In addition, previous studies have found significant differences t (275) 14.16, p <.001 in what students expected grades and students received grades (Landrum, 1999). If students know that their quality of work reflects their actual grade then why do students expected grades show a significant increase then actual grades?

The present study tests the student’s quality of work against the grade that he or she received, from a grade survey conducted, by comparing quality of work vs actual grade, and quality of work vs expected grade. The hypothesis tested is students’ grade inflation on their quality of work vs their actual grade received.

Method

Participants

Participants in a study of grade inflation, consisted of 144 female students and 40 male students along with one participant that did not indicate gender, therefore is unknown. These participants were enrolled in Experimental Psychology at Northeaster State University over several semesters.  

Procedure

Participants were selected from an Experimental Psychology course at Northeaster State University, attending the Broken Arrow campus. The Participants consisted of 144 female, 40 males and one gender unknown. Participants were asked to complete a survey containing six questions pertaining to their grades and performance in a psychology course. Participants were asked to rate their performance in relation to their quality of work, their expected grades, and their final grade that they received in the course. In addition participants were asked to provide his or her GPA, class year, gender, and the course number. Participants were told to answer as honestly as possible as the survey was anonymous. Surveys were turned into the research facilitator upon completion.