In the school system, success is essentially based on numbers and letters. Many students spend a significant amount of their high school careers stressing over the maintenance of these defining marks.

According to the Washington Post, high school grades and resulting GPAs can have an influence on future income. And, aside from statistical analyses on the subject, higher grades can have an impact on college acceptance and scholarships. All this can make an impression on future employers.

But is the maintenance of higher grades an accurate reflection of a student’s intelligence? Should students look at grades as a measurement of knowledge?

It is no debate that high marks must be earned, as students can spend hours studying material in an effort to get an A. However, it is not uncommon that the smartest of students receive a C or a B every once in a while, despite their previously defined intelligence.

Perhaps grades are less a measure of intellect and rather a numerical representation of a student’s work ethic. They represent the cumulation of new knowledge rather than that which is already possessed by the student.

Grades must be well earned, as content needs to be known and studied. While they often need not be looked upon solely as a means of interpreting the aptitude of a student, high marks are not something that are earned by means of simply being smart. Hard work is most definitely required, as success does not ever come for free.

In this sense, while grades are important in the determining of a successful future, they are increasingly more necessary in developing skills associated with work ethic and perseverance. Regardless of whether or not the classes that we take can be applied to adult life, they are a way of teaching endurance and dedication.

All of these things considered, the modern day weight that is placed on the grades of students is rather excessive. The letter or percentage that a student has in a class is all that they seem to focus on. Despite the number of hours put in to a particular class, the A is the only thing that matters. The idea of persistence in learning has been thrown out the window as a result of the materialistic society that exists today.

While the letters and number that students place their trust in are important and essential to maintain, they are not the only things that matter in regard to education. Students should focus rather on their diligence and hard work in order to be proud of the work that they do. Personal pride is exceptionally more important than whatever the work may result in.