Obtaining Good Grades

The majority of students all over the world strive to receive what they deem “good” grades. However, it has reached a point that students abandon learning to achieve them and succeed in life. Therefore, the immense amount of pressure society puts on students to obtain good grades detracts from their ability to learn.
Students have many misinterpretations about their grades, particularly what they represent and their relationship with learning. For example, they often mistake long-term learning and course grades as equals (West and Carrell). In reality, the grade he or she received and the amount a student actually learned are independent of one another (Rubino). Many students are more attracted to having A’s on their reports cards than …show more content…
Many schools’ admission departments, specifically colleges, tend to view students only as their grades and exam scores (Robbins 192). Students are then pressured to achieve impressively high grades in classes and on exams, such as the SAT or ACT, to be accepted into the schools of their choice. In other situations, some parents feel that their parenting is only valued by the grades their child receives (Belkin). Because of this, students study hard to achieve their parents’ approval. Also, a study on sixth graders and their parents revealed they define academic success as obtaining high grades (Robbins 219). Some students feel that they must have good grades to live up to their parents’ expectations (“Student Life Survey”). Another pressure is sports eligibility. Almost all schools have rules regarding a student’s grades and his or her eligibility in school sports (“Student Life Survey”). Students may be removed from sports teams if their grades are not up to par. In addition, students who are able to receive athletic scholarships generally have to also be good students. However, some coaches encourage their players to unethically obtain high grades to receive scholarships