Students' Perceptions of Being Graded as a Group in the College Classroom: Relations among Students' Age,Employment,and Perceived Group Satisfaction

Abstract

This investigation compared and measured for different age groups of students, hours of employment, and previous grading experiences of one student cohort in relation to their perceived overall satisfaction with being graded as a group. A cohort of 230 students from a large southern metropolitan university enrolled in sections of two undergraduate classes, Group Interaction and Decision Making and Conflict Management, participated. Analysis indicated that (a) older students (28–47 years) were more likely to be dissatisfied with a group grade experience than middle (23–27 years) and younger (18–22 years) students, (b) Older students working part time were significantly more dissatisfied with the overall group experience than the younger part-time working students, (c) Older part-time working students were significantly more dissatisfied with the overall experience of working and being graded as a group than the middle part-time and middle full-time working students. Differences were noted between the older and younger students, which supported Older students' overall dissatisfaction with their experience of being graded as a group. Common complaints by older students were that younger students were immature, irresponsible, lacked “real-life” experience, and had misplaced priorities. Common complaints by younger students were that older students were too serious and rigid. It is recommended that this work be extended to include other comparison groups, graduate students, and other disciplines.

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