The usefulness of equity theory for understanding the social/motivational dynamics of the classroom was studied. Attention was directed to how faculty (and students) calculate equity and what the consequences may be. A first set of questionnaires was completed by 238 graduate students and 41 faculty members in 56 classes at a large southern state university in 1978, and a brief supplemental questionnaire was completed by participants in 36 classes. The initial questionnaire was partially replicated with 25 faculty and 130 students from a midwestern state university. Equity was defined as occurring when what one gets out of a social relationship over what one puts in is proportional to the outcome over input of some reference standards. Results indicate that equity concerns have a bearing on classroom interaction. The majority (63.6 percent) of graduate students in the midwestern university, for example, reported having previously thought about their classroom experiences in terms of equity, while 45.8 percent of faculty had done so. The results showed that the most likely comparison standard for exchange participants in the teacher-student relationship was generally not the direct exchange partner. Faculty and students made a consistent distinction between the outcome/input ratio of the instructor versus the outcome/input ratio of students. The shared definition of the situation that appears to characterize social exchange in the graduate classroom is that instructors, but not students, are expected to put more in than they get out. Sentiments (e.g., guilt, anger) about the classroom exchange were also assessed. (SW)