(Props to you if you're an improv fan and recognize the quote style.)
“Grades are so
important.”
How many times was
that said to you over the course of your childhood by parents,
teachers, and authority figures? You may have even said it yourself,
especially if you have kids or have worked with kids.
And it’s a lie.
Oh, it’s true to a
certain point. In order to embark upon a decent career, a student
needs to earn decent grades. Grades are gatekeepers to the next
level. In order to advance and gain certain privileges, a certain
threshold must be met.
How important it is
to receive straight As? A 4.0 (or higher!) GPA? Top marks in the class?
Valedictorian? Not in the slightest. These accomplishments are
heralded as so important to students and their parents and are of no
significance at all in the adult working world. None.
Grades are a
horribly subjective way to measure a student’s ability to memorize,
repeat, conform, and obey authority. A student’s marks bear little
resemblance to their intelligence, interest, effort, attitude, enthusiasm, work ethic,
creativity, and true learning of subject matter. The latter traits
matter far more in a person’s career.
I was always a good
student. But I was never a straight-A student, usually As and Bs with
the rare C. I have a poor memory. Some lucky people have excellent
memories which produce excellent grades with little effort. I
extended a large amount of effort with mixed results.
Almost all tests I
took in math and science courses required extensive memorization.
This is an outdated model of teaching that presumes students won’t
have access to information, calculators, or peers when they work in
their careers. With information, calculators, and peers with us at
all times in our pockets, it’s hard to see how traditional
testing methods assesses a student’s true ability to perform in
their future science careers.
In my case, they
didn’t. I remember being so frustrated with this contradiction in
undergraduate physics that I decided to program a few physical
constants and basic equations in my calculator, essentially cheating.
Because I knew never in my life would it be important for me to know
a physical constant off the top of my head. Instead I focused on
knowing when and how to use which constants and equations to solve physics problems.
Grades are also
highly subjective. I’ve always been an okay writer, but in tenth
grade, an English teacher disagreed with me. She disliked my writing
style, graded me harshly, and wanted to prevent me from advancing to
honors English. And yet my eleventh grade honors English and twelfth
grade AP English teachers graded me well. I highly doubt my writing quality improved significantly in such a short time. More likely, my
English teachers were human and my grades were a reflection of their
own biases rather than my true writing ability.
Even STEM fields
fall victim to this subjective evaluation. Some teachers expect one result and are close-minded to alternate solutions. I once got into a
disagreement with a physics professor who wrote a lab question
ambiguously. I answered it in a way he didn’t intend. I was
correct. But he marked it zero and refused to let me rewrite it. The
situation escalated. I had to take my argument all the way to the
department head and get transferred out of his lab in order to be
graded fairly. My theory is that he was offended I had alternatively
interpreted his “perfectly” written question and his pride got
in the way of evaluating my work objectively.
College admissions
counselors know this concept well. Grade disparity exists not only
from teacher to teacher, but from school to school. Some top schools
are well known for grade inflation. Students show up to class, do the
bare minimum, and earn As because that’s what they and their
parents expect. It is very difficult to compare school to school, and
sometimes difficult to compare student to student within schools if their teachers differ. Grades become an almost meaningless measure
beyond a certain “passing well” threshold, defined differently by
each university admissions office.
Within
college/university, the pressure to earn good grades within one’s
major courses intensifies. Higher education grades are seen as a
reflection of a student’s ability to work in their chosen career.
Students are “weeded out” or discouraged from continuing in their
major if their grades don’t reflect a certain standard set by their
advisor or department. Otherwise good students, trying to succeed
in their chosen fields, are told that their self-worth as
professionals in their careers is determined by the subjective
evaluation of a few imperfect individuals.
Some students
understandably quit prematurely when they’re told that their grades
have damned them to a career of failure. This is almost always untrue, and yet it's so common it's joked about. A poor or even failing grade
translates to the mindset of never being able to master the material (in the way the
professor expects) and therefore never succeeding in the field, so
why continue trying? Combine poor grades with social discouragement
(presuming a student will fail because of their sex, ethnicity,
background, physical abilities, etc.) drives away many students who
would likely succeed with more support.
As I said,
grades are only important as a gatekeeper. A certain threshold is
needed to advance from grade to grade, to college/university, to
advanced degrees, to gain certifications and credentials. A certain threshold is needed for scholarships,
fellowships, grants, and awards, sometimes the very funds that allow
a student to continue their education. Grades are important only
because we as a society have made them important in our education system.
Grades are unimportant overall. Grades are not important in one’s career or job. Grades
are not a measure of your professional ability, value, or self-worth.
I’m going to
repeat that last statement, because I fell victim to believing it for
so long: Grades are not a measure of your professional ability, value, or
self-worth.
Because I was never
a straight-A student, I suffered from impostor syndrome throughout my
12 years in higher education. I internalized the evaluations
as my innate ability to learn and conduct science. I assumed that
because my grades were okay but not excellent, I was doomed to be an
okay but not excellent scientist. I hesitated to promote and advocate
for myself as a student scientist. I mistook my grades for my
professional worth. And no one corrected me.
Only my experience
working as a professional has taught me how wrong I was and how I wronged
myself for so long. In the adult world, no one asks what your grades
were. I honestly don’t remember my GPA at any level, nor my SAT, nor
my ACT, nor my GRE, etc. I’ve never asked anyone what their grades
were, not even during the hiring process. Only browsing resumes will you sometimes see a GPA. I’ve never heard any colleagues ask what anyone else’s
grades were. I've never heard a colleague spontaneously offer their grades. Those numbers have no power over us once we leave behind
studenthood.
Because grades don’t
matter in the adult world. Yes, some companies require a certain
threshold GPA for entry-level positions. But that’s uncommon, and
only limited to entry-level positions. Beyond that, no one cares. In your entire adult working life, your grades as a student don't matter.
What matters in the
adult world? Competency. Ability. Responsibility. Professionalism.
Cooperation. Dedication. Creativity. And so many other traits that
are not assessed on student tests. My ability to do great work in the
profession I’m passionate about was never represented by the grades
I received as a student.
Grades are not important in one’s career. Grades are not a measure of your professional ability, value, or self-worth. You are worth so much more than your GPA.
