Faculty Beliefs about Grades Inventory – FBGI

The highest scoring student should receive an “A” no matter what the highest score is.

Differentiating among students on the basis of achievement is a primary purpose of grading.

The distribution of scores on a well-written major exam following effective instruction should be “piled up” at the upper end of the scale range.

Instructors should determine cutoffs for grades from the distribution of their students’ scores.

Courses in which students learn the most are typically those with many high grades.

Students have little respect for instructors who assign many high grades.

Comparative grading methods such as grading “on the curve” are the fairest ways of evaluating student performance.

Preset performance standards developed by instructors for assigning grades are, for the most part, arbitrary and meaningless.

A final exam in which all students score quite high is probably too easy, no matter how well students know the material.

Grades should indicate to students where they stand relative to their peers.

Leniency in grading constitutes inaccurate feedback and is detrimental to student progress.

Generally, a high percentage of “As” in class indicates low standards or a lack of rigor in assessing achievement.

A grade should reflect the degree to which a student has mastered course objectives, without regard for his/her ranking in the class.

The highest scoring student on an exam should receive an “A” only if that student’s score is above a pre-established cutoff.

Departments with high grade point averages generally have lower academic standards.

Leniency in grading reduces the value of a college degree.

Even with effective instruction the idea that half the class deserves “As” is unreasonable.

To be fair, an instructor should try to avoid making comparisons among students in evaluating achievement.

The distribution of scores on a well-written major exam following effective instruction should be approximately bell-shaped.

A student’s grade should be determined by his/her own performance and not be influenced by how well classmates do.

It is theoretically possible for every student in my class to earn an “A.”

When I assign course grades, the number or percentage of students in each grade category is an important factor in grading decisions.

If the class average on an exam is quite a bit lower than expected, I would adjust the grades upward.

I do not believe in “curving” the grades.