A study examined the grading patterns in basic public speaking and communication courses. It was hypothesized that female students would receive higher grades in basic performance and nonperformance communication courses than would male students. The grades for one academic quarter in two nonperformance communication courses and one public speaking course were examined, for a total of 554 male and 466 female grades. The results indicated that females received higher grades than did males, regardless of the course in which they were enrolled. Women received an average grade between "B" and "B-" in the three courses while men received an average grade between "B-" and "C+." The differences in grades yields a number of observations. The grades appear to be highest in the public speaking performance course, most sections of which were taught by graduate teaching assistants rather than by fulltime faculty. While earlier studies suggested that women might be more competent communicators than men and thus receive higher grades, this explanation is weakened by these results, unless the explanation is broadened to suggest that women are also better at discriminating between testable and extraneous lecture information. However, the notion of compliance--that women receive higher grades because they are more willing to "play by the rules" of a particular course--is strengthened by the study. (HTH)