Left with stress and dishonest temptations, college students are feeling more pressure than ever to achieve perfect grades.
As midterms loom closer, sleep-deprived zombies can be seen stumbling around campus clutching their Starbucks as if it was their life source. Some find their way to the library, staring at books and notes for hours wishing osmosis would kick in. And all for what?
In a 2015 study conducted by the Princeton Review, 90 percent of students reported that they feel good grades are important, while the remaining 10 percent said they care about learning. From this statistic alone, it seems clear that grades are becoming far more important than learning the material. Fifty percent of these students also said that they are under pressure from their parents to receive top marks.
Often times, the desire to earn good grades feels like an endless loop from which we cannot escape. It can feel as if our future depends on one grade, and if we fail that one exam, we fail the class. If we fail the class, we get behind. When we get behind, we panic.
I have had several thought processes similar to this, but it is important to remember that a letter does not determine your value as a person.
That endless pressure of grades can lead to severe stress, depression and cheating. The Associated Press polled students, and 80 percent said they feel daily stress while another 34 percent have experienced depression as a result.
Students are often under financial and social stress on top of academic stress. Barbra Palmer of Stanford News spoke with lecturer Denise Clark Pope.
“Pressure by parents and schools to achieve top scores has created stress levels among students — beginning as early as elementary school — that are so high that some educators regard it as a health epidemic,” Pope said.
More often than we would like to think, students succumb to the pressure and cheat. Pope and Palmer linked cheating to “the social pressure put on students to prize high grades over education and other values, including creativity and imagination.”
A Kennesaw State University student is currently under investigation for hacking Owl Express to change grades for himself and four classmates. While there was no motive or explanation reported as of Monday, his alleged actions can start a dialogue.
With the high pressure of maintaining grades and GPAs, it is obvious why some students may choose to go down that path, unfortunately.
Professors and students should encourage one another to focus more on truly learning the material, rather than just memorizing for the next exam. Once less emphasis is placed on the number, more emphasis can be placed on gaining legitimate knowledge.