Today’s generation believes that a grade in a class is the ultimate determinant of their success in the classroom. But, is it? Every high school student knows the sinking feeling you get after a test. Checking HAC every ten minutes, hoping that the test grade will magically appear, calculating your grade to see what you need to keep an A, or sharing with your friends what you got. I always do this. I need to get straight A’s, I need to score 100% on a test, and I need to master the subject. If I’m not doing this, I start to picture myself as a failure, even though I know that I’m not alone. Nowadays, many students have this same tendency of hyperfocusing on their grades and feeling like they have to be outstanding rather than actually “learning to learn.” I’ve watched students at ETHS select classes with the expectation that it will be an “easy A.” This mindset, which has become so common for my generation, conflicts with the core elements of education. School should be about improving, taking risks, and learning valuable life skills, not staring at numbers/letters that are anxiety-inducing.
The perfect solution to this problem would be to create a system that equally values effort and knowledge. This system would allow students to make mistakes and take risks because they wouldn’t have to fear hurting their GPA. At ETHS, the grading system does not value the effort or grit you put into work, but instead the quality of it. Because of this, I have noticed that when a class comes easily to a student, they tend to check out for the year and not pay attention. This is unhealthy, as it teaches kids that when something comes easily to them, they shouldn’t try. If they were forced to put effort into the course, it would encourage students to realize that they should always be inquisitive, not just take the class for the easy grade.
In 2004, Benedict College became one of the first schools to enforce this idea. Their system worked by splitting knowledge and effort 40/60 for freshmen and 60/40 for sophomores. In a study done by Omari H. Swinton, the data showed that 99% of the time, as effort increased, the final outcome improved. In other words, this system not only helped students put more effort into the class, but the greater effort also increased their knowledge in that subject. This system shifts the mentally weighted question of “am I smart” to “am I improving?” This mindset shift is achieved because effort-based grading focuses more on progress, perseverance, and other values instead of just natural intelligence. It encourages students to rethink the belief that a C is a failure and instead ask themselves, “How can I grow from this?” Life is all about growth, and being able to track your progress will help you more than obsessing over grades.
In contrast to Benedict College’s philosophy, an article by Adam Grant of the New York Times tells readers the issues with grading based on effort: “High marks are for excellence, not grit. In the past, students understood that hard work was not sufficient; an A required great work. Yet today, many students expect to be rewarded for the quantity of their effort rather than the quality of their knowledge.”
While Grant brings up an excellent point, he fails to realize, in certain scenarios, how important grit can be. A majority of students have huge obstacles in their lives, like losing a family member, having to work an after-school job, dealing with health issues, or even having a rigorous extracurricular load. This is why grit is so important. It allows students to show that they are able to overcome challenges in their lives. A school system that values perseverance and effort is going to set kids up for a more successful life than a system that rewards pure perfection.
Next time you get a bad test score or a grade that you may not be happy with, don’t picture yourself as a failure. Instead, think: did I put my maximum effort into the class? Did I work hard? Did I show grit? In the end, these ideas are more important than a B in a class. Let’s stop worshipping anxiety-inducing letter grades and focus on rewarding improvement, risk-taking, curiosity, and critical thinking. I believe that by rewarding effort, it will help students by allowing them to learn more valuable lessons that will set them up for success beyond high school.
