Grades consume me. Thoughts about grades penetrate my mind, and I cannot force them out. Thoughts about learning would serve me better. How can I improve myself in this task or increase my knowledge? No. I think about grades. What do I need to do to get a good grade?

In my senior physics class I studied how to wire a circuit; I received a grade. I studied how the motor in a car works; I received a grade. I studied the principles of sound and light waves; I received a grade. The pattern continues. I studied for the grade. I came home from school one day with exciting news to share with my parents; I aced the physics exam that day and received full marks on all the homework due that week. I informed my parents over dinner. They looked impressed at first and wanted to know more. They asked, “What material did the test cover? What are you learning about?” I told them everything we covered in class. Intrigued, they demanded, “Well how do you wire a circuit and how does a motor work? What are the principles of light and sound waves?” I couldn’t answer. But surely I knew the answers to these questions! Just that day I aced the very test on these materials. Why couldn’t I answer? I couldn’t answer because I failed to learn the material. I completed the homework with one thing in mind: my grade in the class. I approached the test in the same way. I became too focused on earning a good grade; I paid no attention to actually learning and comprehending the material. I did homework and took tests concerning physics problems and achieved the good grade I hoped for. Yet, I couldn’t even tell my parents what I supposedly learned.

Schools require a way to measure the success of their students. They need a system to compare students to each other and compare groups of students to other groups. Schools seek such a system for a noble cause: they want to evaluate which methods of teaching aid students the most in learning. The current evaluation system involves assigning a letter or numerical grade to a student for class work. In theory, this system works superbly; teachers engage students in learning and can measure their learning afterwards. In practice, the system shows a harmful flaw. Under this system, students’ focus shifts from learning to earning a grade.

Imagine teaching a toddler how to ride a bike. First, we might hop on a bike ourselves and give the child an example. Next, we put a pair of training wheels on a bike and help them move the pedals as they take their first ride. We encourage them and evaluate them, “Good job! This is what you did well, while this is what you could improve on.” We do not make the toddler study a report with meaningless statistics about the theory of riding a bike. We do not evaluate their first ride with a percentage grade and tell the child they failed if they do not meet certain criteria. The difference lies in our focal point. Instead of focusing on a grade and the consequences of said grade, the toddler can focus on learning to ride.

Without drastically increasing the amount of money invested in education, school administrations lack an alternative to grades. The alternative would be to increase the teacher/student ratio so teachers could more personally interact with students. If this were the case, teachers could monitor students learning without relying so heavily on grades. Without implementing this alternative, there are ways to decrease the importance of grades in the classroom. Educators must put more focus on learning and less on grading. Educators must find a way to engage students in the subjects of each class. They cannot simply teach students concepts and conduct tests at the end of the unit to see who retained the information. This does not engage students or encourage them to learn. Constructing classes based more on discussion and projects could move the application of grades in the right direction.

Few of my high school classes engaged me. The methods used by my teachers did not encourage me to learn the material. I no longer cared about learning. Instead, I focused on taking the easiest path through school. When the teacher gave out an assignment, I would immediately think: “How can I get this done as quickly and efficiently as possible and still get a decent grade?” I studied two hours for the physics test that I would eventually ace. While studying, I focused only on remembering the information I thought the test would cover. The other material held no importance to me. I missed out on valuable knowledge and lost an opportunity to learn. My physics teacher tried to move my own focus towards learning rather than grades. He said, “I don’t care about the grade. I want to be confident that you are learning. I want to see you apply the concepts of our class material to real problems. Show me what you’ve learned. We’ll take care of the grade later.” He knew the flaw of grades. Yet I didn’t take him seriously. Previous teachers brainwashed me with grades, long before, to the point where I became a zombie. Not thinking, not questioning, not learning, just running wildly in pursuit of the end goal: good grades. All of my classmates acted the same way. We all worried about our grades and put learning aside. Sure our GPA’s made us appear successful, but only at the expense of our learning.

Students can achieve success through many avenues. Rather than encourage differential success of each student, grades actually discourage individuality. Schools and teachers develop rubrics in the effort to evaluate each student fairly and according to the same standard. Yet each student owns a different perspective and unique views. Educators should not necessarily hold all students to the same standards. They need to encourage individuality and creativity rather than conformity. Once the toddler gains some experience riding a bike, we can take the training wheels off. We might encourage the toddler to ride the bike around the block. The child may take a unique path around the block or he or she may pedal at a different rate than another child. We do not create a rubric to grade the toddler after the ride. We don’t deduct points for taking a different route, nor do we chastise the toddler for pedaling at a different speed than anticipated. We should focus on the success of each child, just as school systems should focus on the success of each student.

Many people praise grades for their ability to measure the success of students as they progress through school. I agree completely and appreciate grades for what they achieve. However, these people assume that on their way to achieving a good grade, the student will learn the material. They see good grades as proof that a student learned the material. In my experiences, this assumption proves false. When students do the work just to do the work, they do not learn as effectively. Students learn more effectively when they fully engage in a topic and focus on learning, rather than focusing merely on a grade. If the student possesses no interest in the material, they may soon forget it. If the work itself does not help the student learn or provide useful information, the student gains little from it. Grades can effectively measure learning, but only if the work is meaningful to the student.

Educators place too much emphasis on grades. This hinders the ability of students to learn. As a student I focused on grades and forgot about learning. For students to attain success beyond school, they need to shift their focus back to learning. Educators must initiate this change. They must apply the grading system in a way that doesn’t create a barrier against learning.