Grades and incentives
Assessing Competing Grade Point Average Measures and Postgraduate Outcomes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4096789 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael A Bailey (0000-0003-1575-2494, Georgetown University), Jeffrey S Rosenthal (0000-0002-5118-6808, University of Toronto, corresponding author), Albert H Yoon, Albert Yoon (0000-0002-5889-9827, University of Toronto) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1548-1562 |
| Publication date | 2016-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Studies in Higher Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0307-5079 • E-ISSN: 1470-174X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03075079.2014.982528 |
| OpenAlex | W2017359170 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 19 |
In many educational settings, students may have an incentive to take courses where high grades are easier to achieve, potentially corroding student learning, evaluation of student achievement, and the fairness and efficiency of post-graduation labor outcomes. A grading system that takes into account heterogeneity of teacher standards and student ability could mitigate these problems. Using unique data from a major Canadian research university, we calculate student grade point averages (GPAs) net of course difficulty and find evidence that raw GPAs systematically distort student achievement across majors. We then link undergraduate performance and law school data. We find that adjusted GPAs better predict Law School Admissions Test scores, while the raw GPAs better predict admission to law school and grades in law school. These results suggest nuanced relationship between grades, incentives and subsequent academic outcomes. We conclude by discussing implications of our results for university leaders
Academic achievement · Curriculum · Economics · Entrance exam · Higher education · Incentive · Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Student achievement · Engineering · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal Education and Practice Innovations · Medicine · Occupational and Professional Licensing Regulation · Psychology
Ordinal Data Modeling
Academically Adrift
Personality Psychology and Economics
College students’ categorical perceptions of grades
Alternative class ranks using z -scores
Nominal GPA and Real GPA
The Effect of Nonlinear Incentives on Performance
Evidence on Grades and Grade Inflation at Ontario's Universities
Differential Grading Standards and Student Incentives
Grade Inflation and Course Choice
What Are Grades Made Of
Grade Information and Grade Inflation
The Statistical Analysis of Roll Call Data
| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2026 (9) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |