Moving Past the Boundaries of Your Grade

In highly competitive high schools throughout the world, grades are a prime factor in how we as students distinguish ourselves from each other. The separation between the A’s and the A plusses draws a distinct line in how you feel about yourself. I’m here to say this has to stop. Students shouldn’t be living out their teenager years stressed about the numbers on a slip of paper, of the digits flashing on a computer screen. Yet with our school and society, the grade you get defines who you are and what you’re capable of. High school districts internationally should adopt a policy in which a student can select a few classes per year that will be graded on a pass or fail basis.

This would allow students to live more like actual human beings and less like mindless robots. They could hang out more with friends, they could be more integrated in society, but most of all they could relax. With the encumbrance of scores removed from their young minds, students would not pull all-nighters for their studies (ruining their health) or purposely excluding themselves from participating in a social situation because they ‘have to study.’ In addition, the adoption of a pass-fail policy will allow students to choose to take classes that they otherwise would not due to a fear of ‘getting a bad grade.’ Therefore, the new strategy would not only relieve the burden elicited from the pressure of grades but also widen a student’s view of prospective career paths and encourage them to explore more of the world they live in.