Gender differences in the accuracy of grade expectancies and evaluations

Participants were 131 (69 women, 62 men) students in Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, and Computer Science courses. Eighty-six percent of the sample was Caucasian. The goals of this study were to assess (a) how accurate students' preexamination expectancies and postexamination grade evaluations are and whether gender differences in the accuracy of expectancies and grade evaluations on examinations exist, (b) whether expected grades predict postexamination grade evaluations even with actual grades controlled (self-consistency effect), and (c) whether students' grade expectations and evaluations become more accurate with experience. Throughout the course of a semester, students estimated their grades for each of their examinations. Students overestimated their grades at all points in the semester, although women in Introductory Psychology overestimated their grades less than men did. Students' expected grades were a better predictor of their postexamination grade evaluations than were their actual grades. For Introductory Psychology students, expectancies and grade evaluations became more accurate as the semester progressed. The importance of accurate self-perceptions regarding academic performance is discussed.