| Abstract: | Participants were 131 (69 women, 62 men)students in Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology,and Computer Science courses. Eighty-six percent of thesample was Caucasian. The goals of this study were to assess (a) how accurate students'preexamination expectancies and postexamination gradeevaluations are and whether gender differences in theaccuracy of expectancies and grade evaluations onexaminations exist, (b) whether expected grades predictpostexamination grade evaluations even with actualgrades controlled (self-consistency effect), and (c)whether students' grade expectations and evaluationsbecome more accurate with experience. Throughout thecourse of a semester, students estimated their gradesfor each of their examinations. Students overestimatedtheir grades at all points in the semester, although women in Introductory Psychology overestimatedtheir grades less than men did. Students' expectedgrades were a better predictor of their postexaminationgrade evaluations than were their actual grades. For Introductory Psychology students,expectancies and grade evaluations became more accurateas the semester progressed. The importance of accurateself-perceptions regarding academic performance isdiscussed. |
