By Marcus Ector, Staff Writer
Obsession with grades has been an ongoing concern for many years now, but has gained more attention in recent years.
For many high school students, a grade can feel like more than just a number. It can determine their attitude towards a class, how they feel about their academic abilities, and even how they picture their future. As most students balance 5-7 classes on top of extracurricular activities, social lives, and plans for their futures, all of that can take away from the main reason why they are at school in the first place, which is to learn.
At Polytechnic High School, students have different experiences with pressure revolving their grades. Some believe grades motivate them to work harder, while others feel that focusing on grades can make learning feel like something they have to do to pass a class rather than to retain information.
When asked if grades made her feel stressed and or pressured, Poly student Rashelle Larson responded by saying, “Yes they make me feel stressed and pressured because when I’m over crammed with 6 classes there’s a lot going through my mind…and a lot of the times it affects me on tests”. This raises an even bigger question: are students learning because they have a genuine interest in the material, or they are more worried about “failing”?
Grades are meant to provide a way to see how well a student is performing and what they may need to improve on, however, when grades play such an important role, students may be focusing more on completing assignments correctly than actually learning from them. Keila Ramirez,a junior at Poly, believes that interest plays an important role in how students learn. “If you aren’t interested in a subject you won’t have that tendency to focus on that. Even letting your grades slip can lead to more stress” she stated.
Academic pressure does not affect all students in the same way; for some students, having so many things to cover can make it easier for them to understand the material. On the other hand, some students work better when they have that pressure, which shows on their tests and assignments.
However, grades are only a part of a student’s education. Learning also involves asking questions, making mistakes, working with others, and working through hard problems. Really understanding how something works and being able to know how you found your answer is more important than just remembering the answer.
The pressure surrounding high school is not likely to disappear anytime soon. College admissions, scholarships, personal goals and future plans can all make academic performance feel extremely important. Education, though, is so much more than an A,B,C or D. A successful classroom is where students go to understand the material, ask questions, and make mistakes. Grades can measure part of success, but they shouldn’t become the entire definition of it. At the end of the day, grades are important but so is learning. Students might remember the grade they got on a test, but the things they learn and understand will stay with them long after high school.