Alessandra Gass, Reporter
@agasscourant
It comes as no surprise that technology can be detrimental to the health of impressionable teenagers. It has been known for quite some time that the temporary rush of euphoric bliss produced by endless scrolling on social media platforms like Instagram and Tik Tok is not healthy. However, lurking within each student’s phone is yet another unforeseen danger. Its name? PowerSchool.
A software entitled “PowerSchool” is used by each member of the highschool, both teacher and student alike. Ranging from daily schedules to unweighted GPA, PowerSchool has it all: including constant access to numerical grades.
Accessibility to grades offers multiple advantages, one of which is managing missing assignments. Kevin Zuo, the co-founder of the Student Wellness Club, said, “You can always stay in touch with your grades, see if you’re missing any assignments. You can hear what your teachers want to say about you through progress reports.”
The reassurance of submitted assignments inevitably prevents anxiety. Rather than having to keep track of each task and their due dates, PowerSchool meticulously organizes information provided by the teacher. Additionally, assignments that are yet to be submitted do not snowball, as students are made aware of them immediately. In other words, the if an assesnment is not submitted, the student will not be bombarded with the work right as the marking period closes.
Not only is PowerSchool helpful in managing current assignments, but it can also reflect the level of understanding one may have on a subject. “Being able to see your grades so quickly could also help a student get extra help before they’re too overwhelmed with new units, and give students the opportunity to see that they might need help with before the next quiz or test,” said Freshman Fifi Staron.
Students have a multitude of classes, each subject drastically differing from the next. It can be easy to prioritize certain subjects and place others on the backburner unknowingly. When checking PowerSchool, one can see their recent grades, and decide if tutoring or extra-help may be beneficial. It allows them to stay on top of their academics, and not fall behind when learning significant information.
PowerSchool also provides a line of communication from teacher to student. Student Elizabeth Cheng says, “Powerschool is a way to receive feedback from teachers through comments.”
Through PowerSchools comment feature, teachers can express their thoughts on submitted work and provide an explanation for each grade. In doing this, students become enlightened on areas that they have excelled in, and ones that need improvement. Through this process, they ensure that their next assignment is better than the last.
On the flip side, students’ well-being and mental health seem to depend on the inconsistent grades provided by PowerSchool. The constant change and lack of stability directly reflects the disposition of the impressionable high school mindset. “The grades make your think that your worth is depending on your grades in powerschool,” Kevin said, “Thats really damaging because, of course, this brings a lot of anxiety. But even outside of school, your life, confidence or self-esteem should not be determined by your grades.”
In believing that PowerSchool averages are the equivalent of our self-worth, a dip in grades would also bring down ones self-esteem. If one puts countless hours and unmatched effort into an essay, but receive a grade that drags their average down, they begin to believe that their best is just not good enough. Our teachers seek very specific requirements when grading, which does not benefit each student within the class. We all hold our own strengths and weaknesses, which can boost or ruin PowerSchool averages based on the assignment.
Additionally, students tend to share their grades with other peers. At any given point in the day, they can check their percentage, inform others of it, and ask them to share in return. It creates toxicity within friend groups, as there always seems to be unspoken tension due to underlying competition. “You’re always comparing yourself to other people around you, and when they do better than you, then its not good for your mental health,” Kevin said, “You maybe even start to resent them a little bit for being better than you, so it might now be good for your personal relationships as well.”
Friends are meant to support you, to lift you up when the stress of everyday life seems to be dragging you down. Each person looks for different qualities when deciding who to pursue a friendship with, but rivalry is not one of them. We should not view our companions as our competition, but as our safe haven. By continuously comparing the grades of our peers with our own, we can gradually create a strain on personal relationships.
PowerSchool is also setting students up for failure in their future, unbeknownst to them. Rather than focusing on retaining the information taught in each course, their main goal is to score highly on assessments. “This issue is obvious when quiz grades are high and exam grades are low. It means the students have learned the information in a superficially, and will not retain it in a meaningful way,” said School Psychologist Sandra Warkentin.
While this strategy may seem to work by temporarily boosting PowerSchool averages, it will have no benefit in the long-term. Students will be deprived of the knowledge they have claimed to know, and will not be able to recall it later in life. “You start to stop thinking about learning and you start to think about how you can get a better grade,” said Kevin. “You’re not really trying to attain mastery of the subject but you’re trying to make your grade as high as possible.”
Regardless of if one believes access to PowerSchool is necessary, it is fair to assume that every student has felt the effects of grade-oriented stress. It’s important to remember that a few bad grades do not determine the course of your future. “One bad quiz or one bad test is should not determine your well being because it does not determine how successful you’re going to be in life. You have to put it behind you and look at the bigger picture,” Fifi said, “Instead of focusing on the one slight grade that may be pulling your overall average down, it may be beneficial to move on and plan on improving in the future.
