Performance and Differences in Grading Practices Among Undergraduates at Business Schools

Abstract

If the ranking of students is based on grade scores independent of the selected college or university, it is critical to have an equal national measurement standard. It is a challenge to ensure this if there is a substantial difference in the composition of the students and enrolment requirements among colleges. Based on three different types of colleges in Norway merged into one unit in 2019, this paper examines the grading practices before and after the fusion. By using a regression model to predict the grade depending upon students’ academic skills, one can identify different grading practices for the three independent schools and compare the results after they become one unit with identical exams and a common evaluation. The results show significantly more lenient grading practices at small colleges with low entry criteria and that the evaluation is more random, depending upon the instructor. Furthermore, this paper confirms that the grade point average (GPA) from upper secondary school, mathematical abilities and gender are strongly correlated with success in business studies.

Keywords

• Grading standard
• Business School
• Performance
• Mathematical skills
• Gender

References

1. Alcock, J., Cockcroft. S., & Frank, F. (2008). Quantifying the advantage of secondary mathematics study for accounting and finance undergraduates. Accounting & Finance, 48(5), 697-718.
2. Bagues, M., Labini, M. S., & Zinovyeva, N. (2008). Differential grading standards and university funding: Evidence from Italy. CESifo Economic Studies, 54(2), 149-176. https://doi.org/10.1093/cesifo/ifn011
3. Ballard, C. L., & Johnson, M. F. (2004). Basic math skills and performance in an introductory economics class. The Journal of Economic Education, 35(1), 3 23. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.35.1.3-23
4. Bardach, L., & Klassen, R. M. (2020). Smart teachers, successful students? A systematic review of the literature on teachers’ cognitive abilities and teacher effectiveness. Educational Research Review, 30, 100312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2020.100312
5. Beenstock, M., & Feldman, D. (2018). Decomposing university grades: A longitudinal study of students and their instructors. Studies in Higher Education, 43(1), 114-133. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2016.1157858
6. Blaylock, A., & Lacewell, S. K. (2008). Assessing prerequisites as a measure of success in a principles of finance course. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 12(1), 51.
7. Bonesrønning, H. (1999). The variation in teachers’ grading practices: Causes and consequences. Economics of Education Review, 18(1), 89 106. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0272-7757(98)00012-0
8. Bonesrønning, H. and Opstad, L. (2012). How much is students’ college performance affected by quantity of study? International Review of Economics Education, 11(2), 46-63. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1477-3880(15)30012-8

9. Borde, S. F. (2017). Student characteristics and performance in intermediate corporate finance. Journal of Financial Education, 43(1), 1-13.
10. Brookhart, S. M., Guskey, T. R., Bowers, A. J., McMillan, J. H., Smith, J. K., Smith, L. F., & Welsh, M. E. (2016). A century of grading research: Meaning and value in the most common educational measure. Review of Educational Research, 86(4), 803 848. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654316672069
11. Brookshire, R. G., & Palocsay, S. W. (2005). Factors contributing to the success of undergraduate business students in management science courses. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 3(1), 99-108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4609.2005.00054.x
12. Cheng, L., DeLuca, C., Braund, H., Yan, W., & Rasooli, A. (2020). Teachers’ grading decisions and practices across cultures: Exploring the value, consistency, and construction of grades across Canadian and Chinese secondary schools. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 67, 100928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100928
13. Chevalier, A. (2002). Education, motivation and pay of UK graduates: Are they different for women? European Journal of Education, 37(4), 347-369.
14. Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8(1), 1-44. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v8n1.2000
15. Friday, E., Friday-Stroud, S. S., Green, A. L., & Hill, A. Y. (2006). A multi-semester comparison of student performance between multiple traditional and online sections of two management courses. Journal of Behavioral & Applied Management, 8(1), 66-81. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251740510589742
16. Grove, W. A., Wasserman, T., & Grodner, A. (2006). Choosing a proxy for academic aptitude. The Journal of Economic Education, 37(2), 131 147. https://doi.org/10.3200/JECE.37.2.131-147
17. Godor, B. P. (2017). Revisiting differential grading standards anno 2014: An exploration in Dutch higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(4), 596-606. https://doi.10.1080/02602938.2016.1173186
18. Hoefer, P., Yurkiewicz, J., & Byrne, J. C. (2012). The association between students’ evaluation of teaching and grades. Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education, 10(3), 447-459. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4609.2012.00345
19. Johnson, M., Robson, D., & Taengnoi, S. (2014). A meta-analysis of the gender gap in performance in collegiate economics courses. Review of Social Economy, 72(4), 436-459.
20. Jones, C. T., Kouliavtsev, M. S., & Ethridge Jr, J. R. (2013). Lower level prerequisites and student performance in intermediate business courses: Does it matter where students take their principles courses? Journal of Education for Business, 88(4), 238-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/08832323.2012.688777
21. Krishna, A., & Orhun, A. Y. (2020). EXPRESS: Gender (Still) matters in business school. Journal of Marketing Research. https://doi.org/10.0022243720972368
22. Lawrence, J. J., & Pharr, S. (2003). Evolution of admission standards in response to curriculum integration. Quality Assurance in Education, 11(4), 222 233. https://doi.org/10.1108/09684880310501403
23. Mallik, G., & Lodewijks, J. (2010). Student performance in a large first year economics subject: Which variables are significant? Economic Papers: A Journal of Applied Economics and Policy, 29(1), 80-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1759-3441.2010.00051.x
24. Marcal, L. E., Hennessey, J. E., Curren, M. T., & Roberts, W. W. (2005). Do business communication courses improve student performance in introductory marketing?, Journal of Education for Business, 80(5), 289 294. https://doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.80.5.289-294
25. Marini, J., Shaw, E., Young, L., & Ewing, M. (2018). Getting to know your criterion: Examining college course grades and GPAs over time. The College Board. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED582569.pdf
26. Mavruk, T. (2019). Do men outperform women in finance classes? Journal of International Business Education, 14, 75-98.
27. Mayer-Foulkes, D. (2002). On the dynamics of quality student enrollment at institutions of higher education. Economics of Education Review, 21(5), 481 489. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7757(01)00036-X
28. Møen, J., & Tjelta, M. (2010). Grading standards, student ability and errors in college admission. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 54(3), 221 237. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831003764503
29. Odden, A., Borman, G., & Fermanich, M. (2004). Assessing teacher, classroom, and school effects, including fiscal effects. Peabody Journal of Education, 79(4), 4 32. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327930pje7904_7
30. Opstad, L. (2018). Success in business studies and mathematical background: The case of Norway. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 10(3), 399-408. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-11-2017-0136
31. Opstad, L. (2020). Why are there different grading practices based on students’ choice of business major? Educational Process: International Journal, 9(1), 43 57. https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2020.91.3
32. Opstad, L., & Årethun, T. (2019). Factors influencing students’ choice of mathematical level at high school and the impact this has on performance on business courses in Norway. WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings 2019, WestEastInstitute, 28-40.
33. Opstad, L., & Årethun, T. (2020a). Skills, gender, and performance matter when undergraduate business students choose specialisation within business courses.International Journal of Management, Knowledge and Learning, 9(1), 95-107.
34. Opstad, L., & Årethun, T. (2020b). Factors that explain undergraduate business students’ performance in their chosen field. Does gender matter? Global Conference on Business and Finance Proceedings, 15(2), 2-21.
35. Stinebrickner, R., & Stinebrickner, T.R. (2008). The causal effect of studying on academic performance. The BE Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 8(1), 1 53. https://doi.org/10.2202/1935-1682.1868
36. Trapman, S., Hell, B., Hirn, J. W., & Schuler, H. (2007). Meta-analysis of the relationship between the big five and academic success at university. Journal of Psychology, 215, 132-151. https://doi.org/10.1037/e518532013-271
37. Uyar, A., & Güngörmüş. A. H. (2011). Factors associated with student performance in financial accounting course. European Journal of Economic & Political Studies, 4(2), 139-154.
38. Volchok, E. (2019). Differences in the performance of male and female students in partially online courses at a community college. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 43(12), 904-920. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2018.1556134
39. Walstad, W. B., & Miller, L. A. (2016). What’s in a grade? Grading policies and practices in principles of economics. The Journal of Economic Education, 47(4), 338-350. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2016.1213683