September has started and that means students from all over the country are returning to school. Whether it’s fresh-faced grade-schoolers coming in to start learning fractions and reading or university-level students coming in to write essays and learn research techniques, the story is all the same: all of these students will ultimately be regarded as successful based on similar lines: their grades and their achievements. Many teachers are also taking a look at their students and trying to determine how to measure their success come to the not-so-distant end of the year. Where do people stand on figuring out academic success?
Academic Attainment?
We still live in a society that is driven by very cement, tangible factors; in this sense, grades. The grade you achieve at the end of the course is, for many, considered to be the most important thing. Many higher-ups (governments, school boards) are deeply interested in the grades that classes achieve at the end of every year and things like funding and grants are often given as well. Parents too are interested deeply in the final grades that their kids achieve.
Furthermore, many students have their self-esteem and feeling of self-worth tied up in these grades. Achieving an A is a success, no matter how hard (or how little) one worked; by the same token, achieving a C, no matter how hard one worked, is considered to be less worthy, no matter how much effort the student actually put into this. At the same time, you can’t downplay a student’s A, nor make out a student’s C to be the best thing ever. How can teachers walk this fine line or should the focus be on academic achievement? And then according to many educators, grades are now irrelevant, further muddying the waters.
Academic Achievement?
In this sense, we’re not necessarily talking about the grade-we’re talking about the road to get to the grade. Although statistics will only look at the number of students who achieved a certain grade, the teachers on the front line will be able to see the stories behind the grades. Is it more important to have a student who doesn’t have to work hard to get an A or the student who sweats blood to get a C? What is ultimately more important: the journey, or the destination? This is a tough one for teachers, students, and parents because it requires a lot more one-on-one time and often more flexible means of learning, something which many people simply don’t have the time for anymore. But can success come from achievement rather than attainment?
Attainment + Achievement
Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Grades are important for many students, teachers, and parents because they provide a tangible ‘mark’ to measure against. For example, if you get an A in Math, you’ll stand a better chance of getting into a higher Math course. If you get six As in Grade 12, you stand a better chance of getting a scholarship than someone who got none. It may not be the best system, but having a tangible, solid way to measure success is important for any third party, whether you agree or disagree with it.
But achievement is also very important. Students who feel as though they actually learned something interesting, that they made a difference in their own lives and got more out of it, are more likely to be happy in their education, even if they don’t get an A, than someone who just skated by. Sure it may mean that your favorite courses only netted you a B or a C, but you remember them better. Classes that you worked really hard in, but didn’t get the top grade, may still be more fulfilling because you worked really hard and learned a lot from the class, even if you had to sweat blood to do it!
When I was in university, a class I enjoyed was Urban History. But I didn’t get an A; I barely got a B! But it’s a course I liked and I feel I got more out of it than History 101 where I got a higher grade but got little out of it in terms of interest. In this case, achievement was more important than attainment.
The bottom line is that academic success is a fairly subjective thing. Some people will look at success in terms of their final grades while others will look at success based on how much they learned and what they got out of the course, and then the grade as a distant third or last important thing. No matter how you look at success, trying your best and learning will always be hallmarks of success.
