Every day, millions of students are pushed to compete with one another on an uneven playing field, harming certain individuals more than others. Though society has begun to embrace change and pride itself on individuality over uniformity, the educational system is in major need of an overhaul. In order to advance with the rest of society, the system must do away with its current and inaccurate grading policies.

Despite arguments that its current structure is fair to all, the process through which grades are calculated fails to take into account each student’s unique circumstances. Junior Rae Culligan said, “the [school] system is just designed so that some people do worse.” Grades have not proven themselves to be a true indicator of success, especially for those with learning disabilities or familial obligations. These unfortunate struggles are a byproduct of classism and ableism within the school system.

Schools have attempted to cater to the needs of these students by providing various accommodations, though this alone is not successful in eliminating ableism. Culligan said, “there is such a negative culture around accommodations… I’ve heard teachers say things to other people about using extended time, and I’ve had people say things to me. It makes it really hard for students to use their extended time.” Mistreating and judging students for making use of their accommodations defeats the entire purpose of having them in the first place and leads to unnecessary stress and pressure in the classroom.

Unfortunately, the stigma surrounding accommodations is not the only thing that negatively impacts students. Sophomore Genevieve Cowl said, “people focus so much on grades, but they don’t really pay attention to all your other achievements… People who don’t get good grades always feel like they’re less than everyone else, but your grades shouldn’t determine what kind of person you are.” This forces students to ignore their hobbies and interests, prioritizing the restrictive and unimaginative curriculum. Students are so worried about their letter grade teetering between a pass and fail that they miss out on other valuable teenage experiences.

However, grades do not just push students away from pursuing extracurricular activities. Overall, education today no longer focuses on learning but competition: who can get the highest grades, who has the most time for studying, who can afford expensive ACT and SAT prep. Senior Kayla Shomar-Corbett said, “when I don’t do well, I feel discouraged… It makes school more competitive and unenjoyable because it’s so stressful. It takes away the fun for learning, and instead of getting my fix of enriched learning, I’m getting my fix of competitive learning.”

Other factors that impact student grades are due dates and deadlines. For most assignments, teachers take off points for late submissions so many students rush through their work instead of properly absorbing and comprehending content. Culligan said, “A lot of times, I know I could do better on an assignment, but I have to submit it anyway so it won’t be late. Sometimes, you’re so overwhelmed with homework that you have to copy homework and you don’t even learn the content.” Too many times, students will receive a 100 percent completion grade on a homework assignment, despite not fully understanding the material.

When we put our students in boxes, we demoralize them. At the end of the day, grades measure everything but our academic intelligence and ability. They place certain students at an unfair advantage right from entering the school system. The course of someone’s entire life should not be altered by high school grades and stresses. This pressure will kill all curiosity and motivation for this, and the next, generation, holding them back from future success.