Written by: Ffion Young

Inspired by BBC – Long Reads

Are exam results really as important as we make them out to be?

As a teenager, exam results and grades often feel like the most important thing in the world. Lots of students believe that the scores they achieve at 15 and 16 define their intelligence, abilities and even their self-worth. This pressure can feel overwhelming, especially when so much emphasis is placed on academic success nowadays – particularly with GCSEs. However, it’s crucial to remember that grades are just one aspect of who you are – they do not and will not determine your value as a person, ever.

It seems to be an increasing trend that schools care less about their students and more about the grades they receive to improve the school’s overall academic performance.

In today’s education systems, there is an expansive focus on grades as a measure of achievement. Students are often told that their future depends on getting high marks or grades, which can quite obviously create immense stress for a 15 or 16 year old. In a 2024 survey by SaveMyExams, over 85% of students said they experience exam anxiety. It is difficult enough for students to go through a series of tests and exams one after another, let alone decide their entire life trajectory during adolescence. It is a known fact that the average person changes their career at least 4 times throughout their life. Additionally, being able to write an essay on Charles Dickens in a timed setting isn’t exactly required for most (every) jobs, anyways.

It would be wrong to say that grades hold absolutely no importance, but intelligence and ability come in many forms, and standardised tests cannot measure qualities like creativity, emotional intelligence, resilience, kindness, and so on.

Teachers and their methods

It is a guarantee that nearly every child has enjoyed a particular subject or class in education, but has had that spark snuffed out by a teacher or test grade. Ambition, ability, and enjoyment should never be questioned or challenged by a number, especially when people want to learn something new.

You might think that if one likes a subject, they should try harder or make an effort. However, sometimes children don’t get that opportunity when they cannot learn from their teacher in a way that benefits them, and are told that if they aren’t learning like the rest of the class then they aren’t learning in the “right way.”

It seems to be an increasing trend that schools care less about their students and more about the grades they receive to improve the school’s overall academic performance and pass-rates.

Don’t fixate on that one grade, exam or subject

As a burnt-out college student myself, I understand the desire for academic validation, the need to be told you’re doing something well and that you’re an example for others.

However, over the past few months of attending college, I’ve realised that fixating on achieving high grades was more stressful than actually working towards those grades. Usually, the mark that you get is simply a reflection of performance at a single moment in time – sometimes it doesn’t represent the same effort and performance you have in class. I’ve started to genuinely enjoy and take an interest in the subjects I do, which has encouraged me to go out and do my own research and learning, which has since enhanced my own marks – because I actually like what I’m writing about and want to share that knowledge with people.

We all might have or have had that teacher that gives out bad marks for no reason, or that one subject you just can’t seem to get any better at. Just because someone doesn’t excel in a particular exam doesn’t mean they aren’t smart or capable; many factors can influence exam results, such as personal circumstances, mental health, and even the way a question is worded.

Some of the most successful people in the world didn’t have perfect grades in school, either. Albert Einstein struggled with formal education, and Steve Jobs dropped out of college. They single-handedly proved that success is about passion, innovation and determination, not just exam scores.

School grades don’t define your self-worth

During my GCSE exams, I inwardly started to worry that if I failed, my teachers, parents and peers wouldn’t consider me as ‘bright’ or ‘gifted’. As a 15 year old girl, I never considered that rather than my grades defining me, it was the way I treated my friends, my plans for the future, my passions and hobbies that make me who I am.

How could a number on a piece of paper ever compare to any of that?

It seems unlikely that when someone asks one of your friends about you, the last thing they do is start recalling the time you wrote an amazing essay on ‘The Great Gatsby’ or how quickly you can convert fractions. Integrity, empathy, kindness, determination and loyalty: just a few attributes that cannot simply be measured by the mark you got on that maths exam last week.

Now, as a college student, I can say that success extends beyond academic achievements. I absolutely love my classes. They’re filled with people who performed much better and much worse in school than me, and yet we’re all sitting in the same room, with the same teacher, learning the same material.

Everyone has something different to offer, and that something is what defines them as a person – not their grades. It might be their love for animals, their dreams to become a famous movie star, their fashion sense, or even the skills to put on a whole face of black and white goth makeup at 9 in the morning.

What is it that makes you different? What defines you?