Notes. Many of us experience fatigue, anxiety, depression, headaches, and overwhelming stress just thinking about it. We often see parents scolding their children for poor grades; some even claim that their child's marks are shameful. This only leaves the student desperate, wanting to get the highest grade or percentage possible. We've all seen this happen before. A student will practically ask their teachers for extra credits or persist in persuading their teachers to round up their 79% to 80% just to make themselves feel a little better. But why? Why do we choose to define ourselves in percentages or numbers on a rating scale/rubric? Why does rounding a student's grade by just 1% have a significant impact on the student's self-esteem? It shouldn't. Although our school systems, parents, and peers have led us to believe that grades and standardized tests reflect our intelligence, closer examination and other contributing factors prove otherwise. Grades do not define intelligence, just as age does not define maturity, and it would be immoral to base a human's intelligence on a percentage or letter grade. Instead, grades measure a student's performance and should only be recognized as a reflection of their effort, obedience, and discipline. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay If a fish is tested on its ability to climb a tree, it will fail. However, if a fish were tested on its ability to swim, it would thrive and successfully sport vibrant colors. Similarly, if a monkey were tested on its ability to climb a tree, it would succeed effortlessly, but if that same monkey were tested on its ability to swim down a stream, it would fail and probably fail. The Fish and the Monkey represent diverse and very different strengths and weaknesses. It’s clear that they excel and fail in different areas. If we don't expect a fish to climb a tree or a monkey to swim up a stream knowing that they are different, why do we expect students to excel in everything, knowing that each student also has different strengths and weaknesses? Many factors can contribute to both sides of the spectrum: student success or failure. For example, a student who feels passionate about a subject taught in class is likely to be more successful than a student who finds that same subject useless and not applicable to their life. A student may be willing to put in more effort if they are intrinsically motivated or find that the course content may align with a hobby or future career that interests them. If a student dreams of becoming a nurse, they are more likely to prioritize excelling in health classes over social studies. The student may recognize that grades are important, but may also realize that some courses are a higher priority than others. As a high school student, I personally learned about my strengths and weaknesses. Over the past 7 years I have averaged a C in Maths compared to all my other subjects where I have averaged A's and B's. Despite the number of hours I spend studying and practice, I tend to do the same thing. Even though I study, it also leaves me unmotivated, especially since I'm not passionate about math, it never seems to spark or evoke any interest in me. Lack of interest and motivation for this subjectparticular has made me suffer in terms of grades simply because I know that the field I want to pursue probably wouldn't have much to do with math. On the other hand, I generally have an A average in English and all fine arts, because these subjects tend to interest me and I am very creative most of the time. I prefer to get my hands dirty and express my thoughts and creativity rather than solving a seemingly endless math problem. These are two very different subjects. Both require intelligence. However, intelligence comes in many different forms. Most people think of intelligence as just one thing: People's "intelligence" is often thought of as fluid intelligence, but there is much more to intelligence than meets the eye. Intelligence also includes the different types: interpersonal, emotional, linguistic, interpersonal, musical, logical, existential, etc. Unlike me, a person who does well in mathematics can express logical intelligence. On the other hand, I can demonstrate a form of linguistic intelligence. Both are still forms of intelligence and count equally. They simply differ and can be applicable to very disjoint scenarios. Additionally, the idea that everyone is diverse and thinks differently makes it unfair to grade the world's more than 50 million students based on the same grading scale, especially since the inception of the American rating scale. more than half a century ago. If the world around us has changed so much, why have our politics stayed pretty much the same? Grades are and always have been mostly an accumulation of major tests, essays, worksheets, and quizzes. These tests require students to memorize content taught in class. Many students, including myself, are guilty of trying to memorize information without fully understanding it, simply to pass their tests. Without a good understanding of the concept, the information is practically useless. Learning the concept allows for application to real-world problems as well as other issues related to this topic. If a student is likely to just memorize/cram the content, then they will forget what they were taught once the concept resurfaces. By teaching a student to memorize available information, we are training them to function like robots; train them to absorb information and regurgitate it on paper when needed. If a student felt less pressure to perform well on these assignments and cared more about actually understanding what is being shown, they would be more successful. To combat this problem, schools as well as teachers should provide other ways of grading a student other than testing. Perhaps creating a political cartoon would appeal to a student more than writing an essay. Guidelines for what should be included should be stated, but the manner in which they have chosen to present their knowledge and understanding should be fluid and vaguely limited. Likewise, rather than writing answers on a scantron sheet, a linguistically intelligent student might prefer to write a speech or poem including the required material. If we learn to harness the strengths of each individual, we will discover that we are all intelligent and that we should not feel less than because we have failed in one form of expressing knowledge when there are so many others. By doing this, schools would be able to unlock the potential of large numbers of children and redefine the depth ofthe intelligence of a student. Simultaneously, grades and standardized tests should not be used to measure a student's intelligence because approximately "16 to 20 percent of students experience high test anxiety." There is even evidence that students who experience test anxiety typically have a half-letter grade lower than their classmates. This speaks in favor of having multiple ways for a student to show their understanding of a skill. Test anxiety can be caused by many factors and is often divided into two distinct categories: situational causes and mental causes. The situational causes of test anxiety depend more on the circumstances presented during the test. For example, the amount of time a student has to complete the test or the environment in which the test is administered. In contrast, mental causes of test anxiety may include fear of failing or making a mistake during a test. Many mental causes are based on the pressure we and our parents put on us to meet certain standards. Most students challenge test anxiety with academic dishonesty. "A poll conducted at Fordham University found that cheaters average a GPA of 3.41, while non-cheaters, those who are honest and rely solely on their own thinking, average about 2.85”. Besides test anxiety, many other disorders and impairments could also affect students' grades. I was officially diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in December 2018. showed signs of these illnesses as well as anxiety and paranoia after experiencing a traumatic illness in the summer of 2017. Although I hid my symptoms from everyone, I experienced nausea, vomiting, headaches, sweating, etc. I personally experienced how a mental thought could become something that weakened you physically. It had greatly affected my work, my grades and my grade point average. didn't know how to deal with my trauma. I had test anxiety, I felt the pressure of failing, and I was doing exceptionally well at everything to make up for the school year I had previously missed. In the process, I had lost the ability to think for myself and had committed a unique and formidable act: academic dishonesty. I constantly berated myself for this on multiple occasions. I knew my illness hadn't made me “dumber,” but I still struggled to understand why I couldn't do as well in school as I did before my illness. Many students are like me and tend to hide some issues they face that actually affect their work ethic as well as their performance. While this does not make academic dishonesty acceptable, it is still unfair to compare the circumstances of all students simply because each student's circumstances differ. Specifically, it is unfair to compare the grades of a student who cheats to those of an honest student, and those of a student who experiences test anxiety to those of a student who does not. . I know that my grades do not measure my intelligence, my grades do not reflect what I am truly capable of. Unfortunately, society pressures students to believe that their grades measure their intelligence, which is absolutely bizarre. In opposition to this argument, some have argued that grades and test scores do indeed measure intelligence. Standardized tests issued by states help to reassure.?