In the fall of 1970, Hofstra University instituted a policy of exempting those students from English 1 and 2 who had demonstrated superior writing ability on achievement tests and in high school English courses. The question investigated was whether eliminating the "better" students from English 1 would have an effect on the grades assigned in the courses--in other words, whether instructors assign grades on the basis of an absolute standard for writing ability or a relative standard based upon the quality of students in the class. An analysis of the grades given in the fall of 1969 in English 1 in the fall of 1970 indicated that there was no statistical difference in the distribution of evaluative grades (A-F). There were similar percentages of A's and B's given in the semesters before and after the exemption, and the percentage of instructors giving no A's was not significantly different for the 2 semesters. It appears that instructors use a relative rather than an absolute standard of grading. (AF)