//HANNAH JENKINS//

As the school year comes to an end, the endless amount of debates regarding academic success begins.

Most attribute academic success to good grades, considering a higher grade point average will likely increase student’s chances of getting into a good college. However, some say that tying academic success to grades is detrimental.

“I think if you tie your academic success to grades it puts a lot of pressure on people do to well and not allow them to focus on what they want to learn,” sophomore Genevieve Geoffrion said.

Others agree that academic success is about what you learn rather than the grades you earn.

“For me, academic success is about being content academically and with what [I am] learning,” junior Sarah Caldwell said. “If someone doesn’t enjoy what they’re learning, I don’t see how that is achieving academic success.”

Having said, there are other flaws in the idea of academic success, specifically in measuring the amount a student is learning. I believe that there is not really a clear way to measure how much a student is learning without testing the student on how much they know.

“Learning is important, of course, but it’s those grades that are important because [they] are the only evidence that shows we’ve learned.”  ThoughtCo. writer Grace Flemings said in an article regarding the importance of grades.

Academic success is a mixture of getting good grades and the amount you learn. If one attaches academic success to grades, they run the risk of burning themselves out and not learning about subjects that interest them. On the other hand, those who attach academic success to what they are learning run the risk of not being able to demonstrate what they are learning. One has to be satisfied with what they are learning as well as being satisfied with how well they are doing while being tested on the material.