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Grade Expectations and Overconfidence: Is Economics Different?

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  • Dirk S. Yandell

Abstract

Do students in economics courses predict their course grade more accurately than students in other business school courses? Data over several semesters and from a variety of disciplines suggest that business school students in all disciplines are overconfident. After controlling for other factors, however, Economics and Accounting students predict their grades more accurately than other students.

Suggested Citation

  • Dirk S. Yandell, 2017. "Grade Expectations and Overconfidence: Is Economics Different?," Journal for Economic Educators, Middle Tennessee State University, Business and Economic Research Center, vol. 17(2), pages 18-28, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:mts:jrnlee:v:17:y:2017:i:2:p:18-28
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    File URL: http://capone.mtsu.edu/jee/2017/pp18-28MS816final.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul W. Grimes & Meghan J. Millea & Thomas W. Woodruff, 2004. "Grades—Who's to Blame? Student Evaluation of Teaching and Locus of Control," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 129-147, April.
    2. Belayet Hossain & Panagiotis Tsigaris, 2015. "Are grade expectations rational? A classroom experiment," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 199-212, April.
    3. Kristin F. Butcher & Patrick J. McEwan & Akila Weerapana, 2014. "The Effects of an Anti-grade-Inflation Policy at Wellesley College," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 28(3), pages 189-204, Summer.
    4. Clifford Nowell & Richard M. Alston, 2007. "I Thought I Got an A! Overconfidence Across the Economics Curriculum," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 131-142, April.
    5. Paul W. Grimes, 2002. "The Overconfident Principles of Economics Student: An Examination of a Metacognitive Skill," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 15-30, January.
    6. Alexandra C. Achen & Paul N. Courant, 2009. "What Are Grades Made Of?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 23(3), pages 77-92, Summer.
    7. William E. Becker, 1997. "Teaching Economics to Undergraduates," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 1347-1373, September.
    8. Wayne A. Grove & Tim Wasserman, 2004. "The Life-Cycle Pattern of Collegiate GPA: Longitudinal Cohort Analysis and Grade Inflation," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 162-174, April.
    9. Ewing, Andrew M., 2012. "Estimating the impact of relative expected grade on student evaluations of teachers," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1), pages 141-154.
    10. Joyce B. Main & Ben Ost, 2014. "The Impact of Letter Grades on Student Effort, Course Selection, and Major Choice: A Regression-Discontinuity Analysis," The Journal of Economic Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 1-10, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Martinez, Gabriel X., 2023. "Studying like a nerd: Spacing, self-testing, and explanatory questioning in principles of microeconomics," International Review of Economics Education, Elsevier, vol. 44(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    actual grade; expected grade; overconfidence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A22 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics - - - Undergraduate

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