This study investigated differences in college grading practices (first-year grade point average and course grades) by student and institutional characteristics and by academic discipline to inform and improve our understanding and use as among the most commonly employed criteria in validity and college readiness research. In addition, trends in college grades were examined over a five-year period to determine the stability of these grading differences. Findings show that there were small increases in overall FYGPA from 2007 to 2011 and that FYGPA tended to vary by student and institutional subgroups. There were also major differences in average course grade by academic discipline and these differences remained after controlling for students' SAT® scores and institutional selectivity. These findings can serve to contextualize higher education research studies that include college grades as predictors and/or outcomes and can ultimately inform and impact key educational benchmarking and policy work at local and national levels.