Happy Daze: A Good Grade Isn’t Everything

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstien 

Last week, leading up to this semester’s finals, I wrote about tips and tricks for Hell Week. I did this because it is important to prioritize yourself in times of high stress, but I also wanted to outline the keys to success: nutrition, sleep, exercise, and more. However, there is a difference between striving for excellence and perfectionism. We can sometimes expect a lot out of ourselves, especially with academics, and sometimes push ourselves too far as these expectations can be unrealistic. The result is negative self-talk as we feel we did not live up to our fullest. But should we be getting good grades all the time? 

A recent article by the New York Times quoted almost “80 percent of undergraduate students at Yale last academic year were A’s or A-minuses.” The article noted that this is “part of a sharp increase that began during the coronavirus pandemic and appears to have stuck.” This raises an interesting question: If everyone is receiving high grades, does that cheapen the grade? The author of the article, Amelia Nierenberg, went on to ask, “What does excellence mean at Yale, if most students get the equivalent of ‘excellent’ in almost every class?” These questions are out of my expertise to answer, but illustrates the point of grades: to show that we have learned the material and improve our capabilities. 

Grades offer us feedback for improvement on our work, provide motivation and incentive for engaging with a certain assignment, and provide a sense of accountability for students- not to just communicate a student’s understanding. Of course, we all try to do our best on assignments and want good grades, but a bad grade is bound to happen as we can’t be experts in everything. This is why it is important to see grades more as a chance for feedback and a valuable part of the learning process rather than an endpoint. Bad grades can push us to grow as they serve as a powerful self-reflection tool and can help us be better. 

I myself have had a love-hate relationship with grades. In the past, I have placed much of my intrinsic worth and identity on the ability to get good grades. If I received a good grade, I felt on top of the world, but if I received a bad grade, it was past failing the assignment or the class. I felt like I was failing at life and a failure myself. Big emotions are such a minute thing in life, but when we are all consumed by the semester, wrapping up, and our grades, it’s easier to internalize your grades than you think. However, I will say that I have started to have a healthier relationship with grades in the past few years. I will note that the classes in which I got the worst grades in are the ones that gave me the biggest opportunity to learn and grow. I really wouldn’t trade some of the grades I got because they ultimately came with feedback that was more rewarding and helpful to my future self. 

Next time you get a bad grade, and you start to get down on yourself, I invite you to lean into the opportunity to learn and grow. If you did your best or put in a lot of effort, you should be proud. As cliche as it sounds, good grades aren’t everything- it’s what you do with the material that matters. We all have to start somewhere, and no one is good at everything. So, as finals rear their nasty heads, the semester comes to a close, and you start to get those major grades back, remember to cut yourself slack, and transform the feedback, whatever it may be, into something positive. You may not have complete control of your grades, but you do control how much power you give them over you. 

Affirmation of the Week: “My grades do not define my worth. I am capable, resilient and dedicated to continuous growth. Each grade is an opportunity for learning and improvement, not a measure of my potential. I trust in my abilities and remain focused on the journey of knowledge and self-discovery.”