Grades Aren't Everything
Many students strive to earn good grades. Schools push students to excel and do well in their education. Then concern lies where the desire to pass exceeds the desire to learn. While their work is reflected in the test scores they receive, it is not enough to say they learned the material at hand. Students will do what they can if it means they pass with a good score and leave everyone happy. Good scores to bring back home, good grades to stay in sports, and less stress overall, but is it worth it in the long run?
No Longer About Learning
As any hard-working student knows, good grades are earned, not just handed out. But students are sly and even at times dishonest in order to pass a challenging class. By using tests, teachers evaluate how well students are comprehending the subject being taught. Without reference sheets or access to notes, any exam is challenging as students work to recall information. Despite teachers walking around a quiet classroom, making sure everyone continues testing without any outside help, students have different methods of cheating to avoid a bad test score that often goes unnoticed. After all, testing in the average classroom isn’t as secure as other tests such as the state-mandated tests or Advanced Placement (AP) examples that take place near the end of the school year. Tests such as AP exams take more measures such as holding backpacks and phones and providing supplies for students such as scratch paper and pencils to ensure cheating is less likely to occur.
While teacher policies in syllabi and district policy state definitely that cheating on an exam or quiz is not allowed, that does not necessarily mean students won’t cheat. In the regular classroom environment, students often get away with cheating due to lenient supervision or student innovation. Students can use cheat sheets, and phones, or ask their peers a question or two while the teacher is distracted with other things.
Consider Gracie, a hard-working sophomore and a star soccer player, who wants to do well in the classroom. She does her homework on time, pays attention, and participates in all her classes, even English which she finds the most difficult. Currently, her grade in the class is a C+, a 79.3, and almost a B. On Monday she has a test in English on writers from W.W.I.I. But on Saturday she spends the entire day at a soccer tournament that puts her team in the playoffs. On Sunday, she is a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding. When she faces her test in the first period on Monday, she is extremely exhausted and finds she’s sleepy during the test. Even though she studied the week before and was very prepared, her grade on the test is a D, dropping her overall class grade down to a 72%, a C minus. In contrast, Gracie’s friend Jasmine, who used a photo of her notes on her phone, got an A on the same test.
Neither Jasmine’s grade nor Gracie’s grade on this exam accurately reflects their actual knowledge of what they were being tested on. Gracie just had a tiring weekend!
Despite not resorting to cheating and even preparing for the test, Gracie’s class grade has dropped, and Jasmine’s class grade has improved or remained strong. Test anxiety often overwhelms and causes even knowledgeable students’ minds to go blank during a test. Between 40 to 60% of students test anxiety that may hinder student performance and capabilities during exams. Even though tests aren’t the only thing in a class grade, they are often worth more points and have a greater impact on overall grades than regular classwork does.
Grades At the Cost of the Present
Contrary to the portrayal of high school being the best years of your life in popular media such as music, movies, or television shows, many students find their years in adolescence stressful. During adolescence, there are many changes that an individual goes through puberty, growth spurts, and brain development just to name a few. High school is a major time of self-discovery and identity development. When these changes are turbulent, it causes stress for teenagers.
In addition to these many life changes, teens are also attending school with multiple classes and the workload of the assignments contributes even more to the stress a teenager is likely already experiencing. Some believe studying achieves a more successful life, therefore, being a better option than having fun at social events. But does life satisfaction in adulthood outweigh the regret we have over spending time on academics instead of making high school memories?
The push for youth to do well in their education stems from their environment and the people they look up to as role models. Whether it is their parents, friends, or educators at school who are emphasizing the importance of education, teenagers are heavily
influenced by others and their surroundings. Those students living in a lower socioeconomic bracket than their peers are pushed significantly harder to achieve and do their best. Those with high socioeconomic status can afford to occasionally or even repeatedly perform poorly in school. They have more room to make mistakes because their failure won’t cost the whole family and can be recovered from. In contrast, students growing up in poverty feel as if they cannot afford to fail, at all, due to the strain of feeling pushed to do their best. Lower-income families who have sacrificed themselves for their children for a better future only want the best for them. However, that pressure to always exceed, achieve, and excel is tough on the teen as it may stir up feelings of obligation to succeed.
Think about Sam, the oldest child in his family and the first with a chance of going to college. Sam has made a multitude of friends throughout his high school years but has never seemed to make any time to hang out with them. He is invited to social events such as dances, and trips with his peers, but declines because he’s too afraid to risk his grades dropping. Sam’s parents hover over his life and pay excessive attention to everything he does, especially with how well he does academically. Because Sam’s parents show off Samuel’s academic achievements to relatives, friends, and other parents, Sam feels as though he has to continue living up to his parent's expectations, therefore unable to let them down. Since Sam plans to head straight to college after high school, he makes some time to work a part-time job at Starbucks as a barista in order to save up for his tuition. During his shift, Sam overhears his co-workers happily reminiscing over memories at football games, homecoming, and prom. Sam isn’t sure if he’s satisfied with spending most of his time studying rather than enjoying himself with friends.
Not a Measure of Success
While grades do not define a student or their capabilities, some students are continuously stressed over test results or other forms of evaluation that they receive in their classes. Classes can become stressful, and it is hard to maintain the best scores continuously after weeks on end, especially if a student is taking multiple challenging courses at once. Because college information and the need to prepare for the future is pushed on students as early as elementary school, an atmosphere is created where educational success is seen as the only way to live which is certainly untrue. Just ask G.H.S. veteran Agriculture teacher, Mrs. Villasenor, who has had many of her own students take successful alternative paths to university. In Mrs. Villasenor’s view, there is not only one way to achieve a successful life, and getting locked into a narrow mindset is false thinking. She elaborates: “There are plenty of careers [at which people] will be successful without higher education. If a person has the ability to work right after high school and earn enough income to sustain themselves with the possibility of advancing, that is a good choice.” One such alternative is entering a trade school. There are many advantages offered by trade schools which allow students to learn skills in a matter of months and to enter the workforce without student loan debt. This valid path demonstrates the possibilities available if students are open to them and do not view college as their only post-graduation option.
While the demographics differentiate from school to school it is reasonable to assert that many students make academic achievement a priority in their lives. It’s true that being successful in life is desired by everyone, but academic success is a struggle to maintain. Achieving high marks in school can become competitive when the desire to stay on top is common. Students may do everything they possibly can to achieve the most appealing applications to colleges and universities; whether that means doing extra credit whenever possible or being extra nice to teachers in and outside of the classroom. High-achieving students are those who complete their work and do it well. If they succeed in school then they will succeed in their adult lives. While this logic holds true for some students, students who receive average grades are just as capable of succeeding in life.
We have to ask ourselves, is academic achievement the only or the best measurement of having a successful life? At Greenfield, our perception of peers’ futures is shaped by whether we see our classmates do well academically or not. This assumption might make us underestimate or even disregard classmates who have a lower G.P.A. or struggle in a specific class. These shape our view of ourselves. Fear of failure and false discouragement that there is only one path toward success.
Success is not measured through one singular form for everyone. There are a multitude of different ways to succeed. The measurement of success is measured through the achievement of one’s own goals, the standard they set for themselves, and the satisfaction they receive from it. Whether it is graduating from an elite university or just finding a stable job to live comfortably, success is measured differently in numerous ways. Whatever your goals may be, reaching them is a progression toward your own success.