“Do Marks matter?”, this question has been a part of our lives for generations now, and it still seems to have a debatable answer. In our education system, merit and performance rating systems, grades and test scores are of prime importance. Your GPA matters whether you apply for admission to a college or are seeking a job, no matter where you’re going or what you want to do, grades are kept as the mandatory criteria. Let us widen our understanding of what grades or marks stand for.
Do marks define your intelligence?
- Marks don’t reflect your capabilities – It is a common term amongst students, “Exam Anxiety”. It is real! Students experience it more often than, discussed. A person might know the lessons, understand every concept taught and still be unable to project the same in the exam. Emotions can take the better of us. So, examinations and marks can’t define the level of knowledge or intelligence of a stressed student.
- Lack of comprehension – Some students tend to study to memorize the test material, they don’t emphasize the importance of comprehending their learning. Stating mugged up facts and texts don’t define intelligence, it can reflect your strong memorization power. So, grades can’t measure comprehension.
- Strengths can’t be quantified – Each person is blessed with some strength and talent that is unique to him. Grades are a one-dimensional scale, so they are less useful if you’re trying to gauge the evolving strengths of an individual. Everyone’s combination of ability, talent, work ethic, and imagination levels can’t be summarised on a single scale.
- Passion Matters – The definition of intelligence relates to the ability to read, comprehend, understand, and put the knowledge to practical use. If you’re not motivated, it is all worthless. A passionate individual has better chances of persisting towards a goal and being successful in it.
- Intelligence Changes – Experts believe that you can witness a change in intelligence over time. It would require some work in a few cases. There are expert-created exercises, easy solutions to tricky subjects, helpful exercises to train your mind, online academic guidance for students and so much more that can help bring the change.
It is an undeniable fact that grades are not the measure of a person’s accomplishment. However, it can’t also be denied that there is an admissible percentage that decides whether or not you make the cut to even apply for a certain job or exam. Here are a few reasons that lead to the importance of marks:
- Admission to a better college and university – Every college and university has minimum grade criteria. The admissible cut is different for different universities. The rivalry in most graduate schools for professions such as law, medicine, vet school, and business is fierce. Therefore, grades are made the predictor of whether or not you would make it to the college of your choice. Grades also play a role in whether or not you are accepted into a college honour society.
- Better Scholarships – Student loans are an expensive and long affair. A student’s grades, test results, and participation in a variety of events will all help them get more funding for education which essentially means scholarship. Students discover that joining an honour society or other club qualifies them for scholarship and opens the door to amazing opportunities. When you enter a scholarly association, you can fly overseas, become a campus representative, and get to know faculty.
- Employers care about grades – Resistance is futile when it comes to acceptance, but they can make an effort to show up and get the grades they need to stay in class. Most big companies and brands prefer to check the GPA on the résumé. Employers believe that students with strong marks mean they can do day-to-day duties quickly, and don’t need a lot of direct monitoring.
- Better grades, better opportunity, and better earnings – In chronological order, better grades implies getting admission to the most sought after college, which in turn means opening doors to work with high-end brands and multi-nationals. This implies a better starting salary package awaits which in turn leads to better growth in future.
After a lengthy discussion on whether or not marks matter, the conclusion would be, it is selective perception. It can vary depending on the specific situation of a person. However, it is possible to reach a profession and get answers to your specific query and situation with online one to one personalised career counselling at GrabGuidance. That’s not all, you can also get expert help with a specific topic or subject online with us. Connect with us to know more about how we can help you in your career and study path.
