Going around school, many students may be starting to compare their grades with other’s. Some students may not be happy with how their grades compare to other students because they may not have straight A’s.

Some teachers don’t think that straight A’s are that important for school.

“Do I think straight A’s are important? To that I would say no,” physics teacher Diedra Dumm said. “I don’t think that all students are good test takers, but I think being able to learn the content, comprehend the material and apply the material is more important than an overall grade whether that’s an A or a percentage [or not]. I also think that, as I said, some of our students aren’t good test takers so they might have the knowledge and they might know what they are talking about and they can apply and they have good problem solving skills and they have good critical thinking skills but they are just not good in a pressurized test.”

Some teachers believe that striving for straight A’s can affect students in a bad way.

“Yes, and I see it often in honors and AP level classes where the students are so focused on either a letter grade or percentage that their level of anxiety is extremely elevated,” Dumm said. “This can be detrimental to them because they are so focused on the grade that they might not be as focused on truly learning and applying the material and get too focused on what the report card says versus if they can actually use the information.”

Some students agree that striving for straight A’s can affect a student negatively.

“A lot of stress is an effect,” junior Abigail Gensamer said. “I feel like if I don’t hold myself up to that standard that I’m letting myself down, and I feel like that causes students anxiety and fear.”

Teachers also believe that striving for straight A’s can be a good thing.

“I think that’s a more common thing that people think of, for that student that gets straight A’s for one, it does give them a sense of pride,” Dumm said. “It gives their family a sense of pride. It usually opens more doors, that the higher the grades a student has, it’s going to open their doors not only in college but also career wise. You know a company is coming back and saying ‘Wow, this is where you were achieving and look what you were able to do, that you were all high A’s and that must mean that you have some of those qualities that we would be looking for.’ It shows that you must have been organized and must have been able to manage your time. You must have good critical thinking and logic skills so I definitely think that maintaining high grades and being able to achieve them can be a good thing and I think it pays off for a lot of students.”

Straight A’s may not mean that a person will be better off in life.

“I don’t think having straight A’s is a good gauge as to how successful somebody is going to be later on,” Dumm said. “I know people who did not do very well in high school but then went to college, or went straight to the workforce to a career, or went into the military and they are very successful now and it had nothing to do with whatever those report cards stated… I have some students in class who are not students but workers and they thrive and they are very successful in the workforce and they have the skills that are needed out there they just don’t necessarily have that in the classroom.

Some students believe that getting good grades will be better for a person later in life.

“I feel like if you hold yourself to that standard, you’re going to think you are better than everyone else if you’re always getting straight A’s,” Gensamer said. “You have to almost let yourself be humbled by failing. Getting a lower grade than an A.”

Some students feel student standards are different from person to person.

“I feel like some teachers hold their students to a higher standard and that might just be based on the level, like your academic level,” Gensamer said. “If you’re a B and C student, a teacher might not hold you to as high of a standard with your work as if you’re a straight A or an A and B student.”

Some teachers feel that instead of pressuring students to get good grades, they are helping them to achieve the best that they can.

“I don’t know if it’s necessarily a pressure or if it’s a ‘We want you to do better. We want you to be successful. We want you to do the best that you can.’ We want you to be the best. I think a lot of times, especially in high school, students don’t see their own ability,” Dumm said.

Pressuring students can have both bad and good effects on their grades.

“I think that there are some kids who thrive on pressure,” Dumm said. “They thrive on the high pressure classroom or work experience and they thrive on being under pressure and that doesn’t give them the anxiety that for the other students, being in that high pressure, they just break down and they go into a meltdown at that point. I think that pressure can be good for some but it’s very bad for some of the others. I think that depends on the student’s mental health.”

There are some things that students can do to combat the stress they may feel when trying to get straight A’s.

“One thing I tell kids to do, and I know many don’t listen to, I tell the students to daily, when you have a little bit of extra time, to go back and just review the work so that you are reviewing it daily so when that test or quiz comes up, you shouldn’t have as much anxiety because you have been focused on the material the entire time,” Dumm said.