Grades are an important part of high school. Students spend countless hours at school dedicating their time and efforts to complete assignments on time, yet there is still a decrease in high GPA’s. Students shouldn’t want to settle for barely passing or doing the minimum amount of work possible. Students should push themselves to the max and strive for good grades. Students underestimate the amount of hard work and effort it takes to get a good grade in a class. Lack of effort doesn’t reflect a lack of engagement but rather a desire to minimize effort. Many factors could add to the decrease of good grades in high school but ultimately there is no excuse. Try your best.

When students set their intention to be genuinely curious and excited by the finding connections between their current knowledge and new opportunities to understand, they experience learning. Brandon Johnson, a homeless person in Southeast Portland, believes “the more effort students put in the greater the opportunities they will have greater in life”. Johnson goes on to explain how he didn’t try very hard in high school and he is living with the consequences. He didn’t get good grades and that led to him not to get a good job. This didn’t allow him to make money and ultimately he couldn’t buy a house. Now he is barely surviving on the street in Portland. Johnson says, “I hope this is a lesson to students out there who don’t try to get good grades. Don’t end up like me”.

“One in two freshmen at Rex Putnam High School have at least one F”, according to Putnam’s Sarah Rope.  This statistic may show the lack of effort students give in high school. When a resident of the Rex Putnam community, Janet Wilson, heard this statistic she was shocked. “When I was in school getting good grades was cool. Everyone looked to you for help and you felt super smart. It absolutely shocks me that fifty percent of the freshmen there have an F.”  There are lots of reasons why students can get bad grades. Lack of focus/distractions, test anxiety, ineffective study habits, lack of confidence, communication issues, organization issues, lack of preparation, or learning difficulties. These factors combined could contribute to the decrease of good grades in high school.

Having good study habits can make or break your GPA in high school. Study groups are a great tool to help prepare you for class. Whether it be a test or just class the next day, you will be prepared. Sarah Rope, a junior in full IB at RPHS, utilizes study groups all the time. “Study groups help me so much. A lot of my classes have a lot of information to remember so having others there to help me, helps me. Plus it’s fun to hang out with my friends”. Sarah currently has a 4.0 GPA at RPHS and this goes to show the importance of good study habits. Additionally, Sarah is a starter on the varsity basketball team, is apart of Model UN, and is a National Honors society student.

Overall students should strive to be better in school. Everyone should give their maximum effort because it will set them up for success in their future. Learning makes you smarter and you are more knowledgeable on everything. Having a credible GPA gets you into a good college and allows you to get a good job to make money later in life.