The relationship between faculty characteristics and the use of norm- and criteria-based grading

Abstract

Norm-based grading has been associated with a reduction in student incentives to learn. Thus, it is important to understand faculty incentives for using norm-based grading. This paper used two waves of the National Study of Postsecondary Faculty to examine faculty characteristics related to the use of norm-based grading. Results suggest that norm-based grading is more likely when faculty and departments are more research oriented. Faculty who are at lower rank, male, younger, in science and social science departments are more likely to use norm-based grading, while faculty who feel that teaching should be the primary promotion criterion use criteria-based grading.

Keywords:

• grading standards
• value of time
• student effort

Public Interest Statement

Education policy is often interested in student learning and factors that influence student effort. The method used to determine grades may influence how hard students work. For example, some teachers curve grades, while others do not. Curves can lead to a reduction in student effort because students only need to know more than other students in the class and not necessarily give their maximum effort. This paper sought to understand why some faculty at colleges and universities use curves. We found that faculty are more likely to use curves when they face greater incentives and pressure to perform research. This suggests that curves, in addition to reducing student learning effort, may be associated with a reduction in faculty teaching effort as well. In order to reduce the use of curves, colleges and universities should place greater emphasis on teaching in tenure and promotion decisions.

Notes

1. The decision to create a dichotomous-dependent variable by combining the responses of “used norm-based all of the time” and “used norm-based some of the time” may be questioned by some readers. We also ran the regressions as ordered logit regressions to determine whether estimating the regression with three categories would matter to the results. The results were qualitatively similar to those reported in the paper and to conserve space was not reported.

2. Descriptive statistics on time spent on teaching, time spent on research, and publications are from the DAS-T Online Version 5.0 website maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Additional information

Funding

Funding. The authors received no direct funding for this research.

Notes on contributors

John Robst

John Robst is a research associate professor with the Department of Mental Health Law and Policy and Department of Economics at the University of South Florida, and a research associate with the Institute for Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn, Germany. His research interests include issues related to health economics and the economics of education, with a recent focus on treatment and outcomes for youth with severe emotional disturbance.

Jennifer VanGilder

Jennifer VanGilder is Associate Professor of Business and Economics at Ursinus College. Jennifer’s research focuses on facial symmetry and skin tone discrimination and has appeared in numerous journal including Economic Letters, International Journal of Sport Finance, and the Journal of Sports Economics. This research received national attention in numerous media outlets including the WSJ, Inside the NFL, and was featured during an episode of NFL Films Presents.