“Students Speak” offers a platform for Westport students to speak out about issues of importance to them.
Ella Turner is a sophomore at Staples High School. She serves Inklings as paper editor and editorial board member, and is part of the Graphic Design Club. Last summer, Ella explored media writing at Vogue Summer School and investigative journalism with the New York Times program.
Ella has studied at Alvin Ailey’s dance intensive in New York. She is a member of the senior company at Westport’s Academy of Dance, performing shows like “The Nutcracker.” Ella writes:
I quit tennis when I was 10 years old.
As someone who couldn’t stand the stress of constant competition, I told my mom that competitive sports just weren’t for me and started a career in dance.
After a while though, my little self realized that in any activity, there would be a level of healthy competition. I slowly adjusted, realizing that it could actually push me rather than hinder my progress.
Ella Turner
At school however, I loved to be in competition with myself. That meant harder classes and more stress. As most Staples students do, I would stress about tests, then worry about the grade I got.
You’d think that would be the end of it. However, once I receive my grade, I am forced to add another level of stress to the already mountain-high stack: the stress of telling others how I did.
Grade sharing is a common occurrence at Staples, to the point where I share and compare my grades with classmates in every class. For most students, it is the norm. It is customary that the second you receive a grade, you feel obligated to share it.
Even when I try to avoid disseminating my grade, I’m often asked outright by others. Sharing grades is now a part of the academic process at Staples, and I, like countless other students, don’t bat an eye at it. But recently, I have wondered why this is the case.
Some of the blame for the increasingly public nature of grades at Staples is also one of my unfortunately cherished pastimes: checking PowerSchool. Despite the ease that technology has created, students having full access to their grades at any time of day is a risky power. Rather than avoiding the question, or avoiding discussing grades altogether, there’s always the ability to “just pull it up!” — a phrase I am sadly guilty of.
A significant portion of the pressure to share grades stems from the desire for comparison. The culture at Staples is undeniably a feeling of constant preparation for college and the workforce. This leads to yet another feeling that each grade is the defining factor in a student’s future success.
This culture not only enables unnecessary anxiety, but also creates an underlying sense of competition, the kind that can drag a student’s self esteem far down without them even realizing. If they get a bad grade, they need the reassurance that it was still an average or above average grade, and that they are not falling behind others in the constant race to an unknown finish line.
Once a grade is out in the open, whether positive or negative, there are serious underlying consequences that students put on themselves. If my classmate aces an English essay, there becomes this expectation that they are good at English and should be living up to the bar they set for themselves. Effort becomes judged by a letter rather than time and energy. And once stereotypes and expectations are made, breaking those assumptions can feel impossible.
It’s understandable that comparing grades with peers can be exciting, and many people don’t feel uncomfortable with that level of openness. But it’s also important to take into account that many people need a level of privacy when it comes to grades, whether they say it out loud or not.
Rather than asking “What did you get?,” forcing students to reply with a letter grade, try instead “How was the test?” or “How did you do?” This will enable students who are uncomfortable to respond indirectly, which provides a sense of comfort that as of now, not many students have.
As a sophomore who has 2 more years at high school, that means I will be comparing and sharing my grades, whether I am comfortable or not with the idea.
As a community and a school, I believe it is important that we take a step back and reassess the motives for constant grade sharing by asking ourselves: Is sharing your grades for the benefit of others, or the benefit of your self-validation?
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Back in the late 50’s early 60’s sharing grades and competition just was not as common as it is today day. I don’t ever remember being asked a specific grade on a test. We might have said the test was hard but in my circle that was it!
Much empathy.
And to think I felt peer pressure as a sophomore at Joel Barlow in the fall of ‘68.
Wishing you the very best, Ella
Opening day at the Harvard Business School they gave everyone an economics test with specific instructions to not share the results with anyone.
Then they failed half the class.
This is a terrific essay. I hear so often exactly what Ms Turner writes about, but rarely expressed so well. High school kids seem to be in pressure cookers these days and Ms Turner expresses it thoughtfully, openly and honestly. Impressive.
I don’t remember this level of competition and stress related to school grades back when I was at Staples. In a class of ~650 there was a pretty broad spread of academic ability and since I was in the middle of the curve, grades never obsessed me. Maybe for the really smart kids there was competition but not for the average student. I do recall some angst and sharing of SAT scores though, but lacking Ivy League aspirations I didn’t sweat them too much either. It’s tougher being young today.
I read this thoughtful piece to my daughter (Staples class of ’23) who responded, “yes, Staples gives you the gift of a great education and years of therapy”.
Fortunately they they also have a robust, if overburdened, mental health department that I, as a parent, was very thankful for each day!
Thank you Ella for your insightful essay!
As a parent (of one Staples graduate, one middle schooler, and one elementary school student) and former teacher, I firmly believe the 24/7 access to grades beginning in 6th grade via PowerSchool is unhealthy. Amongst all the discussion about access to technology and its impact on our children, I’ve yet to see this piece addressed as part of equation – and a contributor to mental health stress in our district. Bravo to Ella for shining a light on this. I hope the schools reflect on this.
I totally agree with Ella’s assessment of the grade sharing issue. It can contribute to anxiety and make a student uncomfortable. When asked, students feel the need to respond or perhaps have negative reactions. As a teacher and a parent, I am acutely aware of the pressure that students face during their high school years. How sad that it is made harder, perhaps unknowingly, by their peers. Great job Ella in bringing this issue to light.
Perhaps the SHS Guidance Department staff might wish to “weigh in” on this issue. I always thought “pass-fail” was a pretty good idea. I don’t remember caring much about how my grades compared to anyone else’s. I was mostly focused on which girl I was going to ask out and the odds of acceptance (by the girls, not the college). The pressure/stress back “in the day” at Staples for my contemporaries pretty much centered around whether or not you got accepted to college. I really wasn’t ready to go to college (and my subsequent undergrad grades proved it). But the Guidance Department’s “guidance” was that with a genius IQ it was college or die for me whether I wanted to or not. I hope they’re no longer thinking in those kinds of simplistic, binary terms. Years later, when I got my master’s at my employer’s expense I looked back fondly on my travails with Staples “Guidance.”