Grade-Related Attitude Correlates of Instructor/Course Satisfaction among College Students
Recently Eison ( 1 ) proposed a bipolar Learning Orientation/Grade Orientation (LOGO) dimension that may influence students' evaluation of courses and instruction (p. 924). Meredith ( 4 ) found scant statistical support for the predicted inverse relationship between LO and GO marker items but reported significant relationships between two marker items and five ratings of instmctor/course impact. The present study assessed the relationship berween three grade-related attitudes and students' satisfaction with instructor and course experiences. At the end of the Fall semester 1981 three grade-related attitude items were included on a 41-item 5-point rating scale administered to 9400 students enrolled in 424 lecture courses at the University of Hawaii. Attitude items included Eison's grade-orientation (1, p. 921: "I think that grades provided me with a good goal toward which to work in this course"), Rotter's internal locus of control (2, p. 180; "There is a direct connection between how hard I studied and the grades I received in this course"), and Meredith's appropriate evaluation (3, p. 242; "Grading and evaluation of student performance has been consistent and fair"). Average r among these ratings was .43 ( f i 1000, p < .001). The findlngs suggest that concern for grades and grading procedures are important correlates of Instructor and course satisfaction. The magnitude and direction of the relationships partially support Eison's proposition that LOGO influences students' evaluation of courses and instruction. If a composite of grade-related attitudes is positively correlated with students' satisfaction ratings, then a composite of Eison's "learning oriented" attitudes should correlate inversely with GO and satisfaction items. This hypothesis remains to be demonstrated.