I sat for a business exam a few days ago, and if you had seen me during this past week, I’m sure you could tell. I quickly completed the questions, reflecting the hard and tedious work I put into studying, and left feeling confident. Now, I still await my grade.
Before leaving the exam room, my professor asked us not to share the exam content with the next section, which felt like an obvious statement. Then, they said something that stuck with me. They explained that leaked information would result in a higher average in the later section, and our grades would suffer respectively.Â
Wait, what?
By this principle, if I earned an A-, could it drop to a B+ just because someone else did better? It felt more like a game of strategy than actual learning. Then, it clicked: the system doesn’t just compute our mastery of the material, it pits us against one another.Â
As a Questrom student, I’ve noticed how easy it is for collaboration to manifest into competition. The majority prepare for continued education paths or careers in finance, consulting, or accounting — fields where GPA has a huge impact. When predetermined curves and class averages are enforced, grades shift from being a reflection of comprehension to a hierarchical ranking of students. Partnership becomes risky when your success is determined not just by how well you do, but how well you do relative to your peers; helping a friend study might risk your class ranking.
Compare a college with a corporation; employees climb the corporate ladder with promotions, and students fight to be on the right side of the bell curve with high marks. Under these structures, individuals are ranked against one another, and those who underachieve are systematically weeded out. Grading loses its original purpose as a reflection of genuine learning and, instead, it becomes a tool of structured placement.
When the system values comparison over cooperation when determining final marks, students chase grades rather than knowledge. The pursuit of understanding is often sacrificed in the chase for academic excellence, raising the question: What is education truly for? While both content mastery and measurable outcomes play important roles in a school’s curriculum, there must be an intentional balance between them.Â
I hope the grading system will allow me to view my fellow Questrom students as collaborators rather than competitors. We work toward deeper understanding, growth, and the pursuit of excellence, values that should unite rather than divide a community.
More than anything, I want my results to serve as an authentic reflection of the effort I invest, not as a measurement influenced by predetermined curves. Authentic learning should be a shared experience, not a race for limited rewards. And while I stand by that belief, I still hope my grade proves there can be space for mastery and collaboration.
Effort deserves more than adjustment.
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