If you check Bessy multiple times per day, even multiple times per class period, you’re not alone. Out of boredom, out of excitement, out of fear – I know all the reasons, and I’m sure everyone around you in class does, too.

The cow graphic is very fun to see. Our grades? Sometimes, not so much. When they fall short of what we’re hoping for, we’re left wondering if we’ve done enough – and whether we’ll get the GPA or the transcript to impress universities, especially at a school with lots of kids on a college prep track.

It makes sense that grades mean something to us! As Queen’s University puts it, they’re “the primary currency of learning.” In the 1800s, they originated as an efficient way to communicate achievement to parents. According to the grading system, we work to “earn” the grades we deserve.

And it makes sense that we see grades as a vehicle to the future. They open up post-secondary education opportunities, which let us access a range of jobs, and chances to study abroad.

But with a bit of questioning, the premise falls apart. You might work hard, study for hours — and the information just doesn’t click. Or, as our Yellow Ribbon Week speaker, Wes Woodson, shared two weeks ago, anxiety might stop you from using your hard-earned knowledge on a test. Just because someone gets a low grade doesn’t mean they didn’t work hard.

Unfortunately, teachers have reported “grade obsession” as one of the top challenges in education. Among students, parents, and fellow educators, they see a focus on grades over feedback.

The negative outcomes come in spades. As students compare their grades, their friendships with their classmates, and their relationships with their teachers, suffer. Self-esteem and life satisfaction are proven to decrease — I imagine, because we’re always chasing the next grade, and when we supposedly fall short, we don’t see ourselves as enough.

We’re forced to focus on memorizing, not deeply understanding new concepts. We start avoiding risk-taking. This all increases anxiety, and it lowers actual achievement. You might question: how much can I really do when my hands are shaking, and my future is flashing through my head?

And what about all of the people it’s overlooking? By using a narrow measure of achievement, the testing system disregards countless students’ methods of learning. And, as Queen’s University explains, that “limits diverse ways of knowing.” For example, some Indigenous perspectives (this article refers to Indigenous Canadians, but the issue impacts learning traditions from around the world) see learning as a balance between cognitive, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical development. The grading practices in Western school traditions only focuses on the cognitive aspect.

The school system should take a lesson out of that: we are so much more than our cognitive development, and cognitive development can’t even just be quantified by one test you take on one day.

So who’s at fault?

The students certainly aren’t. We are made to believe that our grades are the biggest thing in the world.

I often feel frustrated when I hear about parents academically pressuring their kids. That said, I recognize that the parents didn’t create the problem — they want to see their children succeed, and they know that, under this system, that is partially through grades (though they still have to extend sympathy to their children).

The same goes for teachers, who often feel they must “teach to the test” rather than focus on broader learning goals (a practice called washback). That’s especially true when their students’ results on state or national tests help determine their pay. “The grading obsession is caused by educational accountability systems and competition for post-secondary placement — not parents, teachers, or students,” Queen’s University concludes. None of us created this system, and a lot of us… don’t really like it.

Parents, teachers, students, and administrators face a tough road. At the end of the day, we will still want to get the grade. But there are ways we can try to see the “bigger picture” — and remember that our grades are not the only measure of how we’re doing, nor do they define us as students or people.

Building better ways for students to learn

Integrating feedback is proven to support better grades. This can be self-assessment, peer assessment, and teacher feedback; all three help students develop independent learning skills. And the classroom’s focus is placed on co-operating, not competing.

Last year, I had Ms. Herndon for Chemistry Honors. She’s also Cathedral’s AP Chemistry teacher; memorization in this class is complex. “It’s a challenge to want my students to actually learn the material, whereas the focus sometimes is, I just want to pass the exam,” Ms. H shares. She wants to check in with each of her students to make sure they’re getting the material – but with so many students enrolled in AP Chem, that’s not easy.

Feedback-based learning has helped Ms. H build an innovative classroom, one that lets students see beyond grades. She uses the Marzano scale: it’s a “research-backed tool, where you have students assess their own understanding of the content you covered,” she explains. “Then it gives me feedback… while also helping students themselves figure out where their learning is.” She adapted the Marzano scale: originally one to four, hers goes to five. One: I’m physically here, but mentally absent. Five: I can teach this to a friend without help.

Another technique she employs is putting assignments in “you-choose format”. Her students can read from textbooks, watch videos, or carry out mini-activities – whatever helps them to learn the material properly. In a class like Chemistry that relies on memorization, hands-on activities were a lifeline for me.

Rasmussen University explains four types of learning styles: visual (or “spatial”), auditory (based on sound and verbal explanations), kinesthetic (based on “doing things”), and reading/writing (through written words). Other institutions regard even more types of learning styles! Certain classes, like those based in lecture formats, might focus on one or two types of learning, while excluding others. That’s why less conventional, “hands-on” activities – and the “choose your own adventure” format that you can find in Ms. H’s class – make the playing field fairer.

But they’re also made to take the focus off of grades a bit. “Science is not the study of regurgitating facts,” Ms. H asserts. “It’s actually knowing and doing and participating in how the natural world works. And that, to me, has always been a struggle as a science teacher: I see students conflicted… they want to memorize or know something, but that can be more short term in their memory. It doesn’t tend to stick around if they don’t actually understand it.” That’s why labs, model kits, and other hands-on activities matter so much in her classroom.

Test corrections, where students can come back into class and see what mistakes they’ve made on their tests, are another method CCHS teachers like her have employed. It’s a way to realize how a concept really works, and it makes a lower grade feel less like a sentence.

Building whole, healthy students

Catholic schools aim to promote spiritual and socioemotional success, alongside academic success. You might have heard this called the “whole-child philosophy”. “Our educational program recognizes that each student is made in the image and likeness of God and shaped by differences in interest, ability and background,” Cathedral’s own website explains. It follows that Cathedral has programs to nurture students beyond the classroom.

You’ve most likely attended a retreat here. Cathedral uses these to make students feel seen as more than just students. This year, the Campus Ministry 11 program carried out “mini-retreats” for the freshmen, hosted during a religion class period. “We need to build in a practice [of] a pause, of a little bit of fun, of some reflection,” remarks Mrs. Schrimpf. She’s taught all types of faith classes here, including Campus Ministry – and Catholic Faith 9.

“Also, I think it’s so helpful for our junior leaders to think of themselves as leaders. They’re not just a class that turns in an assignment… rather, they are campus ministers [and] examples to students that are two grades below them,” she continues. It “works on both levels.”

When I helped organize a mini-retreat this year, as part of Mr. Cunha’s Campus Min 11 class, I was relieved to see religion teachers bringing their students out of the classroom. Freshman year can be overwhelming; reminding students that they are cared for outside of the classroom, and that the school values peer connections, is a step in a great direction for Cathedral.

This year, the main freshman retreat, which took place over a week in late February, was made longer than before – so groups could be smaller. They’re more similar to the intimate groups that students can find at Quest and Kairos later on. “I think what was really beautiful about this freshman retreat is that students felt seen, rather than kind of just lost in a crowd,” Mrs. Schrimpf reflects.

I had the opportunity to attend Quest 15, the final junior retreat of the year, last week. I don’t want to spoil anything for underclassmen, but I did walk out feeling grateful that Cathedral specifically carves out time for us to connect with our class, and renew faith.

“We are not just bodies that learn things and then go out and make money,” Mrs. Schrimpf says. “Rather, we are a soul, a spirit; we have connections with friends, we have relationships, we have spiritual needs that the school is really meant to address as well.”

That belief is a cornerstone of our Catholic education. But public schools are shifting toward it, too. “I even see the way that public schools are changing their math curriculum to have personal finance. Why? Because they’re recognizing we need to educate our students to be adults and humans in the world.” Though they may not be faith-based, public schools incorporate plenty of other opportunities – chances for connection between students, student mental health and wellness programs – that help students see themselves as more than “grade producers”.

Mrs. Groenke, an Anatomy and Physiology teacher, says a special prayer before each test — a Salesian prayer she found years ago, from Jesuit Resource. “I’ve always loved this prayer because I feel like it helps put the test into perspective, reminding us that no test represents our self-worth, and that God is with us, especially during challenging experiences,” Mrs. Groenke shares.

I have had Mrs. Groenke for two years of science. This prayer always helps me to center myself, reminding me that there is a future beyond my test. Here is the text of the prayer:

Dear Lord, as I take this test, I thank you that my value is not based on my performance, but on your great love for me.

Come into my heart so that we can walk through this time together. Help me, not only with this test, but with the many tests of life that are sure to come my way.

Bring back to my mind everything I studied and be gracious with what I have overlooked.

Help me to remain focused and calm, confident in the facts and in my ability, and firm in the knowledge that no matter what happens today you are there with me.

Final words

“I firmly believe the least interesting thing about my students is their grade,” Mrs. Schrimpf says. “It says so little about them as people, about their interests, about their passions… a grade is just a small little element of who a student is.”

Holistic approaches can inform the rest of Cathedral’s classrooms. Non-Catholic schools can hold the same lessons dear, too. I encourage any teachers or administrators reading this to keep integrating new, innovative practices into your classrooms and schools – to help diverse groups of learners grow, and to remind them that learning is more than just academic success.

I always felt 100% safe in Ms. Herndon’s classroom. “That is the intent when students step into my space,” she affirms. “I want them to feel supported and safe and heard.” Ms. H has a master’s degree in counseling; integrating student wellness into her class is extremely important to her. Her goal each day is to make sure students receive that support from at least one adult in their life: “My whole purpose of being a teacher is, yes, I want to teach students science, but I also want them to know that they’re always going to have an adult in their corner that’s cheering them on.”

Teachers like them give us hope that there’s a way out. Through small steps, they are building an educational system focused on something more than grades.

If you relate to “grade obsession,” it’s not your fault. We can all try taking small steps away together. Alanis Huang ‘27 suggests “setting a goal where you limit the amount of times that you look at your grades.” Finding another activity to focus on, like a passion of yours, might pull you out of the obsession.

If it keeps weighing down on you, I encourage you to talk to a teacher or counselor – who can respond by making their schools more open to learners like you. And, if it is causing anxiety or distressing thoughts, here are some hotlines and warmlines provided by the California Department of Public Health.