Every nine weeks, students wait nervously to see the numbers that will define their academic success. But do those numbers actually measure intelligence or simply how well students follow instructions?  At Miami High grades determine GPA, class rank, and even college opportunities. Report cards, GPAs, and state tests are supposed to reflect how intelligent a student is. While many believes grades reflect how smart a student is, others argue they mainly reflect rule following, punctuality, and organization.  

  Sophomore John Vasquez states, “I don’t think grades are an accurate reflection of how smart you are, but more of a reflection of how well you can memorize. Some people might be smart and do incredibly well during class and on their homework, but if they’re weak test takers, they’ll receive a much lower grade than someone who is able to memorize the concept even if they don’t exactly understand how it works.”  

Grades measuring intelligence  

  On the other hand, some students believe grades clearly measure intelligence. Freshman Isabella Pereyra explains, “My grades reflect how smart I am because most of them come from exams and quizzes. This shows how well I understand the topic.”  

  Junior Janet Castro added, “Grades reflect my intelligence because every assignment you take shows the percentage of how well you did. Furthermore, grades reflect on students’ performance and how much they know about the topic.” 

Grades measuring obedience  

  Other students believe grades might measure something else. Junior Andrea Gonzales said, “Grades don’t reflect my intelligence because grades depend on the assignments you do.  If you do your work consistently, you’ll get a good grade because you can be determined, but if you don’t do your work, you won’t get a good grade.” 

  Junior Sanders Cajina expresses, “They don’t reflect intelligence because grades depend more on the interest and effort of the person than on their intelligence.” This demonstrates that organization may influence grades just as much as intelligence. 

Motivation and Pressure  

  Grades can affect students’ motivation in several ways. Some students said grades push them to work harder, while others say they create stress and self doubt. Senior Justin Erazo mentions, “Depends on what my grades look like. If they are high, I feel more motivated; while if they are low, I feel more stress to get them up.” 

  Freshman Ibeth Aguilar pointed out, “Grades affect my motivation and stress in so many ways they can cause me anxiety, and I start comparing my grades to others.” 

Teacher perspective 

  Teachers at Miami High  have different perspectives on their students’ performance. Technology teacher Mr. Suarez states, “I believe people have different chronotypes so they perform better depending on time of day and amount of sleep. So, adjusting to a student’s chronotypes will help them academically overall by bringing out the intelligence in their work.” 

  English teacher Ms. Perez said, “Grades do not necessarily reflect your intelligence because there are some students that get good grades and they’re not necessarily smart. They just work hard, and there are some kids that are really smart and they get bad grades.” 

  Social Studies teacher Mr. Cid added, “I think grades reflect how hard someone works not how smart they are.” 

Are grades motivation for learning or just to pass? 

  Are grades truly motivating students to learn the material or just to pass because it’s a requirement.  Sophomore John Vasquez shared, “They motivate me just to pass as many aspects hinge on having high grades such as college or university acceptances and certain better classes come with higher grades.” 

  Junior Natalie Amador expressed, “Grades motivate me to learn not just to pass, because in order to have a good grade, I actually have to understand the material.” 

Why do intelligent students struggle? 

  Struggling academically does not always mean a lack of intelligence. Outside factors play a big role in performance. Time management, stress, family responsibilities, and test anxiety are some reasons why some students might struggle. 

  Junior Natalee Miguel said, “Intelligent students can struggle academically because they might get bored, procrastinate, or put too much pressure on themselves.” 

  However, social studies teacher Mr. Cid believes it’s a lack of motivation. 

Advice for Students Who Are Struggling  

  Teachers and students agreed that improvement is possible with the right mindset and effort. 

  Technology teacher Mr. Suarez states, “Speak to the teachers and make sure that they understand your struggle, but also make sure to listen as the teacher guides you on what to do in order to better perform. Some students just ask without wanting to make a change or put the effort in, and in the end that doesn’t work.”  

  Social studies teacher Mr. Cid expressed, “Focus on discipline. When you’re not motivated to work on something, discipline is the habit of doing something even when you don’t want to.”