Grade expectations

University students attending large introductory psychology classes reporte d their motivations and goals regarding preferences for course requirements and evaluation methods. Overall, students had expectations that were somet imes contradictory across preferences, were different across subgroups, and were unlikely to be compatible with faculty goals. Women Preferred more op portunities for evaluation and desired to have less weight placed on each e valuation event. Women also preferred a grade distribution with a preponder ance of higher grades, as did men who endorsed a performance goal. Only men who endorsed mastery goals preferred a truly normal grade distribution On ratings of the weightings preferred for effort and for mastery, younger stu dents wanted more weight placed on effort than did older students, and stud ents with a mastery, goal wanted less weight Placed on effort than did thos e with a performance goal.