A Test of Student Grade Satisficing by Experimentally Inducing Time Stress

Scholars studying scholastic achievement in higher education find that students have specific course grades in mind that satisfy their desires for academic performance. When students believe that they are on-track to achieve those grades, they divert resources to other endeavors. This paper tests a resulting hypothesis- Students balance higher grades on easier assignments with lower grades on more difficult ones. After experimentally inducing time stress by assigning students to participate in an experiential learning exercise, those busier with volunteer work did balance their higher grades on the easier, experiential assignments, against lower ones on the course exams. Additionally, the time stress produced a strong interaction effect. Among the busier students, the time stress reduced their course grades (those not related to the experiential learning), while among the less busy, those grades increased. Instructors should be aware that some course activities are less linked to learning than others. The educational consequence of student grade satisficing is that when instructors offer more credit for easier activities, which are less linked to student learning, they may be reducing learning overall. The role of grade satisficing in reducing students’ acquisition of knowledge is an under-explored topic, but it has powerful implications for student learning.