I cannot begin to note how many times I’ve done an assignment for college and spent time and research for it, only to receive little to no credit. 

We grow up being told that grades will dictate our futures and that if we don’t get good grades, we will not succeed. However, in college, students aren’t necessarily going to only get good grades. They are going to get connections, network, and workshop what they want to study and work in for the rest of their lives. 

There seems to be a large misconception of what grades are in college and at Rowan. Grades are not a reflection of your intelligence or how smart you are; it a reflection of how well you absorbed and interpreted the information presented to you in class. In many ways, it is more of a reflection of the teacher and their ability to teach.

However, these grades can deeply affect a student’s career and, depending on their situation, can have a number of variables as to why they are not performing well in the class. More importantly, the traditional style of grading, as time goes on, is proving to be more and more ineffective in showing a student’s academic abilities.

In my own personal experience, I struggled immensely in many subjects in the beginning. This is due to getting used to the professor’s style of teaching to their style of tests and exams, and by the time I actually am able to understand the subject and the information, my grades are too low for me to bring them up very much.

This is a common problem with the traditional way grades are weighted and leaves very little room for a student to show their growth in class. Not every student is the same, and the way they learn is very different, especially in today’s world, and students should not be penalized for this. Instead, schools need to take action to better judge a student’s academic potential and prowess.

Additionally, where is the motivation? Most students are taking classes and working toward them to pass, not to excel. The bare minimum has become the new normal for many students. In my own experience, I have worked long hours here at Rowan and other schools, writing paragraph after paragraph to sometimes not receive any credit, and I am given little to no explanation of why. This leads many students to wonder why they are even in the class rather than how they can succeed in it.

There are many solutions to this, however. Taking different approaches to grading or even peer reviews could increase engagement and participation. Additionally, an improvement in the feedback between teacher and student is needed. If a student does not know how to improve or how to grow, they will continue to repeat the same mistakes indefinitely. The goal of Rowan and all colleges is to help students adapt to challenges and to prepare them for the real world and the obstacles it may throw at them.

Grades should not be one of these major obstacles in life. Colleges should prioritize students’ growth and success rather than trying to force them into a pre-existing mold that only works for a portion of the student body.

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email opinion@gmail.com