Academic Achievement Declines under Pass-Fail Grading
- 1 March 1971
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Experimental Education
- Vol. 39 (3), 17-21
- https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1971.11011260
Abstract
College students voluntarily took all their courses or one course on a pass-fail basis. The mean grade point average (GPA) before conversion to pass-fail for freshmen taking all their courses on a pass-fail basis was 1.67 (C-), which is significantly lower than the 2.26 (C+) for controls who wanted but were denied pass-fail grading. Even after returning to conventional grading the former pass-fail students continued to get significantly lower grades than controls. Juniors taking one course on a pass-fail basis received significantly lower grades, before conversion, in their pass-fail course (mean 2.07) than did controls who wanted but were denied pass-fail grading (mean 2.40). There was no compensatory improvement in the grades received in non-pass-fail courses.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The First Year of Pass-Fail at Brandeis University: A ReportThe Journal of Higher Education, 1969