Are school grades a good indicator of intelligence?

Question

To be honest, through my school life i have always been the worst student in my class and probably in the whole school as well. I’d never study and i could never pay attention to the teachers and it naturally resulted in me failing or hardly passing in exams. Many people thought i was an idiot and compared their results to mine in order to feel better about theirselves. However, outside of the school im pretty smart, all of my teachers believed all my excuses when i said i didn’t do my homework, I got away with many things that other things couldn’t, such as lying to my parents and pranking my teachers then making them believe it was somebody else. I also learn languages quite fast on my own. So what do you think?🤷🏻‍♀️

Knighted2170 · Accepted Answer

Overall I don't think they are a great gauge of intelligence. They are an indicator of retaining basic information that someone, somewhere said this is what you need in order to survive. Well, that may have been true back when you had to know how to read, write, and do basic math. Today it's all about school funding.

On the side note. Being able to scam your way through isn't really the brightest thing. Eventually, that will catch up to you. What that piece of paper really says is that you stuck with something, and played the game according to the established rules. Which is what employers look for.
I was a mediocre student at best. But, I taught myself what I needed to know and continue to learn new things. I can talk at length and in-depth on a variety of subjects that schools don't teach. I can do and have done, things that schools don't teach. A lot of what schools teach is several years, if not decades, behind current times. But, that piece of paper can open doors that intelligence alone cannot.
Grades are not an indicator of intelligence. They are an indicator of how well you played the game.

BCA6010 · Accepted Answer

It depends on the subjects and how the class is being taught.

For example I switched geometry teachers midway through the school year- subject didn't change, but my second teacher's method of teaching was much better and so I got an A during that semester while I barely passed by the skin of my teeth the first semester.

In college however, things get a lot more wild because professors in any subject with open-ended demands can pretty much freely take points from you on a whim for any reason. This was especially bad in my political science, history, and writing related classes where having an opinion the professors didn't agree with could easily lose a letter grade or two even if the paper would've otherwise been A-quality.

311WasAnInsideJam · Accepted Answer

They're a measure of your ability to parrot information. A measure of your ability to "show your work" instead of just giving the correct answer. A measure of your ability to put the name, date and subject on your paper how that particular teacher prefers. A measure of your ability to waste your free time at home doing things you should have just been able to do in class. A measure of your ability to get into class before the bell, so you aren't marked as absent for the day. A measure of your ability to quietly watch the 1997 Odyssey movie because it's easier for the teacher to do than actually go over Greek literature.

It's not a measure of your intelligence, but rather your ability to appease the powers at play.

sejla · Accepted Answer

There were times when my daughter looks like a rock in public school. I knew she was smart from the time she was born. I think there was a disconnect with how they were teaching.

She's in college now working hard and getting top grades. I think school was actually holding her back. She does much better when she is self motivated and taught in creative, interesting ways with some understanding of how knowledge helps navigate in the world versus just regurgitating information for a state test or something.

I do think she has a slight learning quirk that she might have been working against in school but no one ever would test her since she made good enough grades.

SongBird3 · Answer

What I learned in life is that there are some thing u are just born with. My brother was a straight A student, he never really tried, he was just naturally good in school. I however struggled in school and tried my hardest and still only got B and Cs. My mother hated school and never went to college but she got a job and kept it for almost 30 years, she accomplished a LOT because she was a hard worker and was more street smart.
Im not gonna say that grades aren’t important, but shit like Standardized Testing is 100% bullshit, that dosen’t measure intelligence, it measures if your a good test taker. I think schools should focus more on the kids drive and work ethic.

talloak · Answer

As a former teacher, I can say that grades are an indicator, just not a very good one. A straight A student is not likely to be stupid. However a failing student can be very smart, especially for the reasons you fail: not trying, disinterest, not focusing (can't focus?), etc.

More worrisome to me than your grades is the list of things that you are smart in. Apart from learning languages, which is a great thing, the examples you give are all very negative. Do you really want to be someone who excels at dishonesty and meanness? Aren't there some other positive qualities besides languages that you would like to be good at?

Zweihander · Answer

Yes I think, for the most part. I think people that understand that schooling can only benefit them and that they should put in effort and follow instructions are typically more intelligent then people that have the "I dont HAVE to so i'm not going to" mentality about school. Kids that get A's are on average smarter and more intelligent than kids that get C's. That's just facts. Sure, getting good grades might reflect someone's ability to follow instructions, but that's a big part intelligence tbh.

BCRanger10 · Answer

No, not necessarily. All "good grades" really means is that someone can memorize a lot of information (some of which may or may not be accurate) and call it to mind it at the right time when exams roll around. Or that they just do their homework and turn it in on time.

Whether or not Einstein actually said it (or if it's just a paraphrase, as I have so heard), the quote is still true that "Education is not the learning of facts, but training the mind to think." Having good grades CAN be an indicator of intelligence, but that doesn't mean that they actually are. Someone shouldn't feel too secure in having a 4.0 GPA, neither should they think that they're out of luck if they barely graduated.

Anonymous · Answer

No. They're a good indicator of book smarts. The ability to retain information. It doesn't equal exact intelligence. Exact intelligence is more one's ability to comprehend.

This is why "IQ tests" have been debunked as invalid with only spatial testing being considered an test of actual intelligence. It's why you can have a doctor, as example, who is well educated & does well on exams but who isn't necessarily intelligent enough to comprehend if they set their alarm clock 30 minutes earlier they wouldn't be speeding/tailgating on their way to work.

blutwolfe · Answer

Nah, people are usually forced through school, so they're doing something they don't wanna do, it's normal to not care lol. I used to turn it into a joke, and high school grades don't matter unless you're going straight to college after.

Are you really 22 and going to school or am I missing something?

CoreyJ · Answer

Grades have never really meant anything to me.

I hated Secondary School (due to the school life i had being the nerd and all) College was great because it put me in an environment where i could be myself. But in both i never did great, college i did much better and i also become a much more happy person.

However my grades in school were horrendous, but now i work as a Full time video editor... so fuck the education system 😂

Schools put everyone through the same tests, even though every single person is different. We all learn differently as well, so their way of teaching may not be for you.

someginger · Answer

Eh not really, I mean a kid could get an A in English but not realise playing in traffic isn't a good idea.

I didn't do that well in school due to my dslecxia and me realising that what they were teaching us was just shit, I still passed everything I needed to and got to uni

zaffy69 · Answer

No, grades don't determine your intelligence. I would get bad grades but I was smart and would even help others. Thing is we all have a unique way of learning. School bores us and leaves us unmotivated causing different things like depression, anxiety and such.

ArrowheadSW · Answer

When I was in elementary school I didn't get very good grades, but I had about the highest IQ in my grade. Later on, such as in high school, I figured out the whole school thing and did far better. In college I knew people who got good grades but I didn't think were that smart. Perhaps they had a knack for the books.

Insomnia72 · Answer

Yes. But not a good indicator of creativity and imagination. Einstein did poorly in school, as did other genius before him. Writers also do poorly in school. All school teaches you is how to conform to fixations. Artists don't do well in that environment. They need their minds to be a playground of universal liberation, and that means no norm fixations. Yet that makes it difficult to pursue an ordinary job in life and maintain it.

Existentially · Answer

Being good at school doesn't show your intelligence. It shows how well you can remember things you've just learned and apply them to a test or an exam. I was always bad and doing homework but I always remembered everything I heard in my classes and never needed to take notes and also was a good test taker. What really shows your intelligence is tests that have short answer questions because it gives you the ability to articulate and think about ideas that fit with the question and shows that you're able to think comprehensively and respond in an accurate manner. People in high school cram study for just about every test but that only teaches them the material they need for the test. They never remember it afterwards.

DorkVader · Answer

Yes and no. I say Yes because being successful at school sets up your future and can help you get scholarships and stuff for college. That permanent record does have some bearing as you move into higher education. No because it's more of a measure of task completion and good habits than intelligence. Most of grade school is facts regurgitation, and anyone can do that. Also, school isn't always presented to us how we learn best, so we learn via someone else's methods and not always our own

ForteExe · Answer

Absolutely not. School doesn't make you smart or wise, nor do exams test for intelligence or wisdom (except for an IQ test). School is there to instill knowledge, and the two biggest factors involved in whether students will absorb what they're taught are "is the information being conveyed in a way that makes sense to the students?" And "are the students willing to learn?". If student grades are poor, the cause is in all likelihood that the lesson material isn't being taught properly, that the students don't give a shit, or some combo of both.

Miristheiss · Answer

Intelligence?

They display your drive, work ethic, ability to grasp needed life concepts for future jobs... etc.

What are we supposed to do with a vague concept like intelligence?

If I want to hire an engineer... you need to know calculus, trig, geometry... etc. If you get F's in those subjects I am not hiring you.

The same with biology grades and the medical fields... chemistry and the pharmacy field, teaching and education class grades... etc.

Saville_Row · Answer

Not in all cases. For example, I know smart people without college/high school.

What good grades show, however, is ability to focus in what you have been tasked to, solve problems and being responsible. That's why is easier for a company to hire you. You are trustworthy.

IlyaTheImpaler · Answer

That, my friend, correlates with the quality of your school. How good of an indicator it is depends on what you were taught, and what you were tested. The people who believe they have found a better indicator of intelligence just haven't figured out that once they try to quantify that indicator into a measurement system, they are reinventing the wheel of the education grading system 😂

Anonymous · Answer

I think you are lazy. You literally said that you don’t try in school and you fail. What do you expect? Surely you’re going to not perform good if you aren’t willing to put in the effort. Of course grades don’t define your intellect; however, grades show the effort and drive you apply to your work. Listen, only you control how smart you are. Being at the bottom of your classmates doesn’t mean that you are any lesser than them. Stop comparing yourself and if you care, then try.

Anonymous · Answer

Grades are an indicator of your ability to read and adapt to a teacher's class and style, not really of intelligence but one could say that this skill is an important component of intelligence. This is also important to become successful, because this is a skill you will need to have in a job.

Hispanic-Cool-Guy · Answer

Yes and no. High intelligent people can figure things out and if you're getting C's D's and F's in your school work is because you probably don't have the intelligent capacity to learn.

Secondly, school grades can also indicate a person just studies a lot of a material and happens to memorize the answers to the question the teacher asks on a test or school work but can be a bit of a retard in other areas of life.

Are school grades a good indicator of intelligence?

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