Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-6-2019
Keywords
ideology, grading, higher education, undergraduate education, political correctness
Abstract
While considerable quantitative research demonstrates ideological liberalism among American professors, only qualitative work examines whether this affects undergraduate education. Using the HERI dataset surveying students in their first and fourth years in college (n=7,207), we use OLS regressions to test whether students’ political beliefs are associated with reported college grades and perceived collegiate experiences. We find that while standardized test scores are the best predictors of grade point average, ideology also has impacts. Even with controls for SES, demographics, and SAT scores, liberal students report higher college grades and closer relationships with faculty. Nevertheless, conservative students consistently show higher levels of satisfaction with college courses and experiences, and higher high school grades. We discuss implications.
Series Title
EDRE Working Paper
Series Number
2019-15
Citation
Woessner, M., Maranto, R., & Thompson, A. (2019). Is Collegiate Political Correctness Fake News? Relationships between Grades and Ideology. Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/edrepub/82
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