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Grade anxiety I knew I'd never be a mathematician. I also knew I couldn't avoid Calculus forever – not if I wanted to study business management. I approached the class with dread, and it lived up to my expectations. Somehow, I managed to get a B – a perfectly respectable grade under the circumstances and much better than I had anticipated! But since I had become accustomed to getting A's, that B felt like a failure. Good grades – the anxiety to get them is very real, but how satisfying are they? And how helpful are they for adult students? Sure, they make us feel good. They may help us get into the graduate program of our choice. Or they may be necessary to qualify for tuition reimbursement. But for working adult students the real test of progress is in everyday life, not in grades whether good or bad. Of course, my teacher's evaluation of my progress matters to me. But my employer's evaluation is just as important. Do I now have the skills necessary to handle my new job, to get that long-awaited promotion, or to keep my current job? "But I got an A in Comp Sci I!" doesn't impress a boss who is unhappy with my performance. Most important is my own evaluation. Do I feel I've learned anything, or did I just "get through" the course? Am I taking easy courses just to boost my grade point average? After all, getting an A in Advertising probably shouldn't impress me if I've been working in advertising for 10 years! Older students often get better grades than they did in high school or their first pass at college, and they often get better grades than younger students. And this is despite the enormous pressures of work and family plus school. It's not just that we're smarter than we used to be. It's not just that we work harder (although we usually do!). The driving force behind this performance is motivation. We now fully (finally) understand the value of education and will do whatever it takes to get it. While the external validation provided by grades is a great confidence booster, it's the internal validation that sustains us. There is nothing quite like the sense of accomplishment that comes from meeting the challenges presented by a difficult course, even if your grade disappointed you. You may have worked harder and learned more getting that B or C than you did for your A's. I know I did. 4/3/02 TOP |
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