Grades Aren’t a Measure of Learning

My As Don’t Mean I’m Smart

By Macie Rasmussen

I sit in my art history class, entranced by my professor’s discussion on how the conceptual art of the 60’s and 70’s functioned as an institutional critique. (I highly suggest taking ARTH 3464 with Emily Capper). I’m not an art history major, but I’m taking this class because I’m fortunate enough to have time to take classes outside of my major. I appreciate the opportunity because my major often makes me wonder, “Am I anything more than my professional life?” 

In the classes I received As in, especially in my major, I wonder, “What have I learned? What am I gaining?” It’s as though I’m being trained to do one thing or function in one setting. For example, I’ve been involved in programs that suggest they are centered around the creativity of the craft, yet the only purpose is to satisfy a client and ensure financial gains. Similarly, grades in these types of classes are about satisfying the authority—memorizing their ideas and strategies. 

At the same time, the classes that I’ve taken in other departments, particularly Cultural Studies, have taught me about life and given me knowledge that I can use outside of my professional life. And guess what: I predicted that I wouldn’t get my best grades in these classes, and I was right. They challenged me, but they taught me how to be an active and engaged citizen. They reminded me of my humanity and that I’m not just a machine to create content and produce revenue. 

But I’m not disappointed in my younger self for selecting an educational path that I don’t feel completely comfortable in now. I was anxious about my employability and selected something that I thought would lead to a career and use my skills while providing flexibility in what that career was.

I acknowledge that those aspiring to extend their education to graduate programs, medical school, law school, etc. are more reliant on the grades that influence whether they are accepted or rejected.

Perhaps I’ve received lower grades because I’m used to having an assignment and following the rubric to complete exactly what the instructor wants. I’m learning now, in my last year of undergrad, that real creativity stems from the rejection of surface level information that, at times, I’ve used to receive As; creativity is the ability to break through the surface. The knowledge that I’ve gained outside of my major is about questioning and deciding for myself what to think about without instructions on how to do it. There’s value in the freedom to choose my own way of knowing.