Investigating the Association between Grading on a Curve and the Big Fish Little Pond Effect: A Large-Scale Quasi-Experimental Study

Equally able students have a lower academic self-concept in high-achieving classrooms, the big fish little pond effect (BFLPE). Grading on a curve—providing the best grades to the best students in the class and the worst grades to the worst students—has been speculated to contribute to the BFLPE. However, empirical evidence for this assumption is not conclusive as it stems from correlational studies. We tested the association between the BFLPE and grading on a curve with a natural experiment from the 1970s in which Swedish municipalities were free to abolish grading (N = 9,104). The BFLPE did not differ between nongraded and graded students. Our results suggest that students engage in social comparisons independent of whether or not they are graded.