Introduction: The GPA Trap
For most of us, the rhythm of school was dictated by the report card. From a young age, we learned to measure our progress, our intelligence, and even our worth by a single letter or number. This focus intensifies in high school, where every test and assignment becomes a calculation, another data point in the relentless pursuit of the highest possible GPA.
But what if this entire system, which we treat as an essential and objective measure of learning, is fundamentally flawed? According to researcher and author Alfie Kohn, the evidence is overwhelming: the constant pressure to get an 'A' is one of the single greatest obstacles to genuine learning. Grades are not just inaccurate—they are actively counterproductive to education.
This article explores three surprising truths, drawn from Kohn's research, about the real impact grades have on students, their curiosity, and their future.
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1. Grades Don't Motivate—They Kill Curiosity.
Alfie Kohn's research presents a direct challenge to conventional wisdom: grades make students less interested in whatever they are learning. Instead of sparking a desire to learn, the focus on an external reward extinguishes the internal spark of curiosity. This corrosive effect manifests in three distinct ways.
First, as interest declines, students actively avoid intellectual challenges. Second, they become less likely to take risks, choosing easier projects or shorter books to guarantee a higher grade rather than a richer learning experience. Third, their learning becomes more shallow and superficial, shifting from a desire for deep understanding to a narrow focus on memorizing only what is necessary to pass the test.
Kohn explains this phenomenon directly:
...if the point is to get an A you're going to choose the shortest book or the easiest project because that makes it more likely you'll get the a... when students are graded they tend to do things in a more shallow or superficial fashion... they're less likely to really push and reflect and more likely to say do we have to know this is this going to be on the test.
This shift is profoundly important because it changes the entire goal of education. The process of discovery and intellectual exploration is replaced by a transactional pursuit of credentials.
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2. Grades Are More About Control Than Assessment.
While grades are often presented as a neutral form of feedback or reporting, Kohn argues their primary function is something else entirely: control. They are a system of "bribes and threats" used to compel students to do work they have no authentic interest in.
In this view, grades become a tool of coercion for educators who lack the ability to truly engage their students in the subject matter. Rather than creating an environment where students want to learn about science, literature, or history, the system defaults to making them do it for the grade.
Kohn frames the issue starkly:
I have to fall back on bribes and threats to make them do it and that's what grades are about not assessment not a necessary way of reporting results they're about um coercion.
The long-term consequence is that students lose their natural desire to learn. They become "grade grubbers," preoccupied with arguing over "tenths of a point on their GPA" because the system has taught them that this is what matters most. Kohn is clear this isn't the students' fault; it is the inevitable outcome of a system that robs them of the "natural desire to do stuff that really provides a sense of satisfaction" and leads them to make "bad choices about which courses to take."
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3. A World Without Grades Isn't Just Possible—It's Better.
The most common defense of grades is that they are a necessary evil. But Kohn points to real-world examples to prove this isn't true, citing schools that have successfully abolished grades entirely.
The outcomes for students in these environments are overwhelmingly positive. He reports that these students are not only "a lot happier" but also "a lot better prepared for careers and for college." They are better prepared precisely because they spent their time developing as thinkers and people, not as GPA-maximizers. Many students in the traditional system report "sacrificing my entire High School career in search of the almighty a," a pressure that leads some to cut corners ethically by cheating and many more to feel they are "not being true" to themselves—sacrificing a passion like photography for a course that offers an extra point.
Gradeless schools show there is both "good theory but good practice" to demonstrate that eliminating grades is a profoundly positive step. As Kohn points out, abolishing grades would "only make life more complicated for bad teachers who would now have no lever to compel kids to do stuff that doesn't make sense to do in the first place."
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Conclusion: Reclaiming Real Learning
The evidence suggests that our society's addiction to grades comes at a steep price. The relentless pursuit of the "almighty A" forces students to sacrifice genuine intellectual curiosity and personal growth on the altar of academic achievement.
It leaves us with a critical question to consider. If we stopped asking our children what grade they got, what could they truly learn?