Student Grade Expectations at Technical College, 2-, and 4-Year Institutions

Abstract

Although students’ final course grade expectations have been the focus of several studies, none have looked systematically at students’ expectations for grade distributions for the whole class across institutional types, student year in school, and course levels. This study examined such differences as a function of gender, course level, and year in school at a university, community college, and technical college. Participants indicated average grades students should receive in first-year, sophomore and, for university students, junior and senior level courses. Technical and community college students expected higher grades than university students, and university students expected higher grades for lower level courses as their years in school increased. Expected grades typically increased with course level, and women expected higher grades than did men.