Society has created an overbearing pressure which persuades students to believe that their worthiness directly correlates with the letters on their transcripts.
The original objective of the grading system was to motivate students and show an accurate representation of their learning. But with the upsurge of pressure and competitiveness amongst students, grades have become an instigator for the fear of failure.
With GPAs ascending and college acceptance rates plunging, academics have entered an entirely new ballpark. Students are competing daily for better academic rankings than their peers as colleges and academic titles are highly dependent on grade point averages.
There is much more complexity to a student than their one-dimensional grades, but students know if their grades do not reflect their work ethic, colleges will not be interested.“I feel so much pressure to keep my grades up because I know colleges are looking for a high grade point,” said senior Abby Moroney. “I feel like you have to juggle so much to impress colleges which leaves so little time to focus on your grades. It just doesn’t feel possible.”
This causes immense pressure on students, so much so that they begin to believe that their grades correspond with how intelligent they are.
Many students are given false hope that if they do well in school, their ACT or SAT scores will reciprocate. In spite of this, just the opposite is occurring: nationwide scores are decreasing while grades are still improving. “School grades can be very misleading because someone could do well in one subject at school, but not do well on that same subject on the ACT because it’s just so different. That can really take a toll on your confidence,” stated senior Gracie Collins.
This mindset can cause self esteem issues on both extremes of the spectrum.
Academic validation entails that when students get good grades, they hold themselves in high regard, thinking they are naturally gifted and thus creating destructive egocentrism. In contrast, when a student does poorly in school, they associate themselves with failure.
These extensive ego issues can follow students into other areas of their life, making this more than just a school issue.
Many high achieving students experience burnout at some point in their educational or professional careers because of the exhausting cycle of seeking validation and eventually disappointing themselves when they don’t meet their own expectations.
Learning should be an inspiring and enjoyable experience, but society no longer appreciates the concept. “When thinking about college, everyone just wants to have good grades on their transcripts, so they just memorize things for tests to see that good grade, then forget all that information after,” senior Luci Patel remarked.
The letter grading system conditions students to feel like failures when the outcome of a test or assignment is not what they’re looking for, but the grade does not reflect countless hours put into studying, progress or effort; it reflects defeat.
Talents and weaknesses vary amongst students, but all are pressured into the same validation-seeking performance. Considerable damage could already be done and further is bound to happen if societal standards cannot adapt to student’s emotional needs. Accepting and normalizing failure followed by effort would bring millions of students peace of mind and could potentially remedy the outbreak of academic validation.
