Stockard, JeanDwight, LangWood, J. Walter2023-05-302023-05-301985-09-01Stockard, J., Dwight, L., & Wood, J. W. (1985). Academic merit, status variables, and student’s grades. Journal of Research & Development in Education, 18(2), 12—20.https://hdl.handle.net/1794/283489 pagesStudents' grades are important mechanisms for advancement and success in life. Grades are criteria for college admission and academic awards, and they undoubtedly influence the encouragement and advice students receive regarding their future plans. In using grades in these ways it is assumed that they reflect students' actual achievement. This paper examines this assumption by looking at the extent to which ability, social class, and gender, as well as achievement. influence students' grades in school. Earlier work is extended by including both gender and social class in the analysis and by examining influences on students' grades in each year from the 7th- to the 12th-grade and both the total grade average and marks in the subject areas of mathematics and English. The total grade averages were examined because they have most often been the focus of other studies. English and mathematics grades were examined because of the centrality of these disciplines to the school curriculum and because of the association of achievement in these areas with both gender and social class.enCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USacademic achievmentsocial classgenderArticle