In this study, we seek to understand the beliefs that chemistry faculty hold when grading student solutions in problem solving situations. We are particularly interested in examining whether a conflict exists between the chemistry faculty beliefs and the score they assign to students' solutions. The three categorical values identified in a similar physics education study were evident as themes in our study: (i) a desire to see students' explanation of their reasoning; (ii) a reluctance to deduct points from a student's answer that might be correct; and (iii) projection of correct thought processes onto a student solution, even when the student does not explicitly show thought processes. The scoring of each student solution depended significantly on the weight given to each theme by an instructor. In situations where a participant expressed all the three themes, the conflict was resolved by laying a burden of proof on either the student or the instructor. In this study, a sizable minority of the participating faculty acted inconsistently, in that they stated they valued students showing their reasoning when solving problems, but they graded student work in a way that would discourage students from showing their reasoning. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)