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Brianna Wilson
Professor Boyd
ENG 111
25 November 2014
Grades do not define
What many people may not realize about a person they would consider successful is that
most likely they did not go to and or finish college; and may have even dropped out of high
school. Of the top 400 richest Americans in 2011, 27 graduated from high school but did not
attend college. Another 36 were college dropouts (Kremer). However, this is not to say if
someone drops out of college he or she will become successful; but one does not have to go to
college to achieve success in their life. In many ways college does make individuals very
successful; but it is the grades an individual earns in college that does not necessarily make him
or her successful. Throughout ones entire academic career they have held a label; whether that
label was an excellent student, an average student or a failing student. These labels originated
from the grades those students received in school. Letter grades do not determine success,
cannot measure intelligence and will not control ones outcome in life.
Bill Gates and Mark Wahlberg have both traveled very different walks of life and
became very successful doing so, but they also have one thing in common; none of them finished
school. Bill gates dropped out of Harvard University after only attending for two years. Gates is
now known as the one of the richest men in the world for inventing breakthrough computer
software many know and use called Microsoft. Thirty years later Gates received an honorary

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doctorate from Harvard University and had this to say as his speech Im a bad influence. Thats
why I was invited to speak at your graduation. If I had spoken at your orientation, fewer of you
might be here today (Lin). Even though Gates dropped out of one of the most illustrious
universities in the world is very successful. The grades he was earning did not stop him from
chasing his dream.
Mark Wahlberg is a well-known actor who has earned countless awards in his career.
According to Wahlberg, I never made it past the ninth grade, my circumstances were not unlike
millions of other teens today, who live in tough working class neighborhoods surrounded by
drugs, violence and crime, and who struggle to stay on the right path without positive influences
(Grossman). Mark Wahlberg was more interested in being hard in the streets and rapping than he
was in his school work, so because of that his grades were not good. Two years after Wahlberg
dropped out he was incarcerated for assault. Nevertheless, none of his past effected his present
in a negative way. Just recently Wahlberg went out to obtain his GED at the age of forty two to
set an example for his children (Grossman).
What is the meaning of intelligence? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of
intelligence is The ability to learn or understand things or to deal with new or difficult
situations. Nowhere in that definition does it state that that intelligence is measured on how well
people do on tests; it states how well someone learns and understands situations. With that being
said, how can an intelligence quotient test (IQ test) intelligence? A new study of more than
100,000 participants suggests that there may be at least three distinct components of intelligence.
So you could not give a single, unified score for all of them (Mann). Many scholars do not excel
in every single subject at school; to be more specific many of them may not be good test takers.
Students take tests to travel onto the next level all throughout their years of schooling. There are

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placement tests, standardized tests, end of the year tests and the most famous the Scholastic
Aptitude Test (SAT). All of these tests are important and the grades students receive on them are
just as significant, but not one of them measures a students true level of intelligence.
What does one have to accomplish to become successful? Is becoming a millionaire the
highest level of success that someone can reach? No it is not. Throughout school, it seems
straight A students are held to a certain standard in life. Many are expected to be in the top
percent of their class, attend prestige universities and go on to become a lawyer or doctor. How
come students who do not make straight As do not have the same expectations? Students who
make mostly Cs, Ds or Fs can also grow up to become successful. Grades cannot determine
your future success in life. Rappers and drug dealers who most likely did not even finish high
school are extremely successful. Their trade may not be respectable or necessarily legal but none
the less they are very successful. On the other hand, there are many celebrities who are
successful one day and addicted to drugs and their life is on a downward spiral the next day.
Instead of talking about the problems in life that comes from grades, there should be an
alternative solution to get rid of grades. A pass and fail system should be put in place to replace
letter grades. A pass or fail system will work much better than a letter grade grading scale
because it takes the pressure off of students to live up to the expectations of straight A students,
and will not make other students to feel less important than straight A students. There are many
times were a student is a few points away from a higher letter grade causing them to receive a D
when they could have received a C. The pass and fail system would eliminate that problem. The
pass and fail system is so much easier and less complicated than the letter grade system. Out with
the old and in with the new.

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Letter grades do not determine success, cannot measure intelligence and will not control
ones outcome in life. So, students need to stop letting them. Every student is classified as either
an honor student, average student or a failure all because of the letter grade system. What makes
an honor student any better than a failing student? Each student faces obstacles while in school,
it is up to the student to decide how to handle them. A failing student may be just as smart as an
honor student, the only difference is application. Maybe the honor student does a better job at
applying their smarts than the average or failing student. There are many factors that go into why
failing students are failing. Instead of labeling them as such why not try and help them excel in
their academics? By installing a pass and fail system in schools that would eliminate the ridicule
failing students may receive from average or honor students. Grades should not stop anyone
from trying to become successful not should they make anyone feel less intelligent than they
really are. Students make the grades they should not let the grades make them.

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Works Cited
Grossman, Samantha. "Mark Wahlberg Gets A High School Diploma." 17 September 2013.
www.newsfeed.time.com. Document. 16 November 2014.
Kremer, John. "Famous, Rich, and Successful People Who Were High School or College
Dropouts." N/A N/A 2013. www.collegedropoutshalloffame.com. List. 16 November
2014.
Lin, Joseph. "Top 10 College Dropouts." 10 May 2010. www.content.time.com. Document. 16
November 2014.
Mann, Denise. "Does IQ Test Really Measure Intelligence." n.d. Web.MD. Article. 24 November
2014.