Values Supported by Current Uses of Grades:
Views of Students Enrolled in IU Biolgy Courses

Toward the end of the 2005 spring semester, students who were enrolled in IU Department of Biology courses that count for credit toward a Biology degree were invited to complete a questionnaire concerning grades. 256 students participated (although not all students responded to every question). Below are results from that survey.

Question
 Year No. of Yes's No. of No's % Yes

% No
1. Do you think that the main, practical roles of grades are to help admissions committes (e.g., of professional and graduate schools) to decide whom to admit and to help employers to decide whom to hire? Fr 47 8 85 15
So 56 9 86 14
Jr 54 23 70 30
Sen 38 15 72 28
Total 195 55 78 22
 
3a. Have concerns about grades ever influenced any of your decisions about which courses to take in college? Fr 35 22 61 29
So 51 16 76 24
Jr 58 16 78 22
Sen 43 11 80 20
Total 187 65 74 26
 
3b. Do you think that concerns about grades will influence any of your future decisions about which courses to take? Fr 46 11 81 19
So 56 11 84 16
Jr 58 15 79 21
Sen 37 17 69 31
Total 197 54 78 22
 
4. When deciding how much time and effort to invest in a course, do you tend to consider how much time and effort seem to be needed to get a certain grade in that course? Fr 52 5 91 9
So 60 7 90 10
Jr 68 9 88 12
Sen 50 4 93 7
Total 230 25 90 10
 
5. Does it seem to you that instructors tend to use grades as a tool to help persuade students to learn what they want for students to learn? Fr 43 14 75 25
So 45.5 20.5 69 31
Jr 56 20 74 26
Sen 42 12 78 22
Total 186.5 66.5 74 26
 
6. Do you think that students tend to believe that if there were no grades, they would be less inclined to learn in college what they, themselves, consider to be most important to learn? Fr 30 24 56 44
So 36.5 30.5 54 46
Jr 48 28 63 37
Sen 32 19 63 37
Total 146.5 101.5 59 41
 
7. Do you, yourself, believe that if there were no grades, you would be less inclined to learn in college what you consider to be most important to learn? Fr 25 32 44 56
So 22 45 33 67
Jr 32 44 42 58
Sen 15 39 28 62
Total 94 160 37 63
 
9. Would you tend to take courses at IU that you were very interested in if you were pretty sure that you would not get better than a B+ in each of those courses? Fr 24.5 31.5 44 56
So 22 46 32 68
Jr 31 46 40 60
Sen 22 31 42 58
Total 99.5 154.5 39 61
 
10a. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how hard a student has worked in her courses? Fr 36 21 63 37
So 41 26 61 39
Jr 36 41 47 53
Sen 27 27 50 50
Total 140 115 55 45
 
10b. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well a student has learned what instructors consider to be most important to learn? Fr 37 20 65 35
So 47 20 70 30
Jr 46 31 60 40
Sen 29 25 54 46
Total 159 96 62 38
 
10c. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well a student has learned what that student considers to be most important to learn? Fr 19 36 35 65
So 15 52 22 78
Jr 16 60 21 79
Sen 7 47 13 87
Total 57 195 23 77
 
10d. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how cognitively/intellectually mature a student is? Fr 22 35 39 61
So 26 40 39 61
Jr 23 54 30 70
Sen 10.5 43.5 19 81
Total 81.5 172.5 32 68
 
10e. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how ethically mature a student is? Fr 13.5 43.5 24 76
So 6 61 9 91
Jr 6 70 8 92
Sen 1 53 2 98
Total 26.5 227.5 10 90
 
10f. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how good of a citizen a student is likely to be? Fr 8 49 14 86
So 7 60 10 90
Jr 6 71 8 92
Sen 4 50 7 93
Total 25 230 10 90
 
10g. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well a student has searched for and explored in college issues that are most meaningful to her? Fr 9 47 16 84
So 11 56 16 84
Jr 5 72 6 94
Sen 4 50 7 93
Total 29 225 11 89
 
10h. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of a student's character? Fr 15 42 26 74
So 12 55 18 82
Jr 8 69 10 90
Sen 5 49 9 91
Total 40 215 16 84
 
10i. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of a student's ability and propensity for self-assessment? Fr 26 31 46 54
So 26 41 39 61
Jr 22 55 29 71
Sen 9 45 17 83
Total 83 172 33 67
 
10j. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of a student's commitment to life-long learning? Fr 24 33 42 58
So 22 45 33 67
Jr 18 59 23 77
Sen 14 40 26 74
Total 78 177 31 69
 
10k. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of to what extent a student has challenged herself in college? Fr 35 22 61 39
So 27 40 40 60
Jr 34 43 44 56
Sen 23 31 43 57
Total 119 136 47 53
 
10l. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of to what extent a student has been intellectually transformed in college? Fr 23 34 40 60
So 18.5 48.5 28 72
Jr 23 54 30 70
Sen 11 42 21 79
Total 75.5 178.5 30 70
 
10m. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of the quality of liberal education that a student has gained? Fr 18 37 33 67
So 10 57 15 85
Jr 12 65 16 84
Sen 9 45 17 83
Total 49 204 19 81
 
11a. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can figure out and defend what they consider to be most important and interesting to understand better within each course? Fr 27 29 48 52
So 17 48 26 74
Jr 22 53 29 71
Sen 7 45 13 87
Total 73 175 29 71
 
11b. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can generate useful questions about what they most want to understand better? Fr 30 24 56 44
So 19 47 29 71
Jr 21 55 28 72
Sen 11 43 20 80
Total 81 169 32 68
 
11c. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can analyze their questions? Fr 34 23 60 40
So 25 40 38 62
Jr 26 51 34 66
Sen 9 45 17 83
Total 94 159 37 63
 
11d. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can prioritize their questions? Fr 26 31 46 54
So 23 42 35 65
Jr 25 51 33 67
Sen 11 43 20 80
Total 85 167 34 66
 
11e. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can search for information that addreses their questions? Fr 35 20 64 36
So 34 30 53 47
Jr 30 46 39 61
Sen 10 43 19 81
Total 109 139 44 56
 
11f. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can analyze data that address their questions? Fr 34 22 61 39
So 26 36 42 58
Jr 26 49 35 65
Sen 11 42 21 79
Total 97 149 39 61
 
11g. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can recognize and frame problems? Fr 33 24 58 42
So 28 37 43 57
Jr 29 47 38 62
Sen 12 42 22 78
Total 102 150 40 60
 
11h. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can generate useful hypotheses? Fr 27 30 47 53
So 23 42 35 65
Jr 26 50 34 66
Sen 9 45 17 83
Total 85 167 34 66
 
11i. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can design experiments to address their hypotheses? Fr 31 26 54 46
So 17 47 27 73
Jr 18 58 24 76
Sen 10 44 19 81
Total 76 175 30 70
 
11j. Do you think that, in general, grades allow admissions committees and employers to get a good sense of how well students can reason about ethical issues? Fr 12 43 22 78
So 8 57 12 88
Jr 9 67 12 88
Sen 4 50 7 93
Total 33 217 13 87
 

 

    No. A No. A- No. B+ No. B

No. <B

% A

 % A- % B+ % B

% <B
8. If you are planning to apply to medical school, what average grade for all of your courses at IU do you think that you would need to obtain in order to have a good chance of being accepted to IU Medical School (or to a similar medical school)? Fr 15.5 25.5 5 4 2 29.8 49.0 9.6 7.7 3.8
So 18.5 37.5 6 1 0 29.4 59.5 9.5 1.6 0.0
Jr 31.5 32.5 5 3 0 43.8 45.1 6.9 4.2 0.0
Sen 11.5 27 6.5 1 0 25.0 58.7 14.1 2.2 0.0
Total 77 122.5 22.5 9 2 33 53 10 4 1