Determining Faculty Grading Variation.

A study was undertaken at the College of the Canyons, in California, to assess the variation of grades given by mathematics instructors teaching intermediate algebra. A sample was drawn from all instructors who taught Math 070 repeatedly from fall 1990 to fall 1994, resulting in the examination of the grades of at least 200 students from classes taught by 4 full-time faculty. A grade point average (GPA) was computed for each instructor by dividing the total grade points by the number of grades given. Withdrawals were tabulated separately. The GPA's of all four instructors were compared and an analysis of variance was used to determine significant differences between instructors. Variance was compared within and between instructor groups to determine significance. This ratio was found to be 2.29, not significant at the 0.05 level, suggesting there were no meaningful differences in grading between instructors. An analysis by instructor indicated that for the sample period, instructor number 1 had a success rate (i.e., grades of at least a C or credit divided by the total grades) of 68.5% (450 completed) and a withdrawal rate of 31.5% (207 withdrew); instructor number 2 had a success rate of 71.2% (242 completed) and a withdrawal rate of 28.8% (98 withdrew); instructor number 3 had a success rate of 63.9% (384 completed) and a withdrawal rate of 36.1% (217 withdrew); and instructor number 4 had a success rate of 63.3% (420 completed) and a withdrawal rate of 36.7% (244 withdrew). Data tables and charts are included. (KP)