Much More Than an A+: Do Grades Define a Student’s Intelligence?

By Mia Palacios 

Walk the halls of Miami Lakes Educational Center (MLEC) and you’ll feel the quiet weight of a grade. It’s more than just a letter on a page; it’s a badge of honor, a source of stress, and for many, a label that feels permanent. Students are told that these grades are the key to their future, but what if they’re just one piece of the puzzle? What if the story of a student’s intelligence is far richer and more complex than any A, B, or C can ever capture?

Conversations with MLEC students as well as parents reveal a community wrestling with this very question. Their insights, paired with some eye-opening research, suggest that their report cards might be measuring something important, but they aren’t measuring everything. Students were asked if their grades define how smart they are, and they all gave thoughtful answers with one thing in common: grades measure the grind, not just the genius.

“I don’t think grades reflect how smart someone is; they reflect the effort someone puts into school,” says sophomore student Dwayne Davis. It’s a sentiment that resonates. A student can be talented beyond the classroom, being brilliantly creative or having a knack for understanding people, skills that don’t always appear in a calculus test. 

This idea is backed by the Theory of Multiple Intelligences, developed by Harvard researcher Howard Gardner, which suggests at least eight distinct cognitive capacities, which could also be referred to as different kinds of “smart,” from book smarts to people smarts to street smarts. The current system, however, seems to have a favorite.

Brandon Clark, a sophomore, puts a finer point on it: “Grades only showcase how well a student can understand information and how quickly he/she can understand it,” he explains. “Someone might not be the best academically, but they are experts in being able to hustle and survive for themselves.” In other words, the skills that earn a top grade are not the same as the skills that will necessarily help you navigate the real world.

Parents, who’ve seen a few more report cards in their time, tend to view grades through a wider lens. For them, it’s less about the test score and more about the person their child is becoming.

Adalgisa Bonilla, a parent, sees the value in grades but doesn’t see them as the final word. “It’s good to look at grades,” she says, “but having the highest grade doesn’t guarantee a prosperous life.” For her, true success for her daughter is about happiness, mental health, and peace—things that a report card can’t measure.

Alexander Granados, father of sophomore Christopher Granados, views the system as a kind of training ground for life. He believes the push for good grades teaches students to strive, a lesson that pays off long after graduation.

This aligns with what experts call “grit”—defined by researcher Angela Duckworth as passion and perseverance for long-term goals—which has been strongly linked to success, sometimes more so than traditional measures. Sometimes, the real lesson isn’t the historical date you memorize, but the resilience you build studying for the quiz.

 This focuses on grades; however, it creates pressure on the students, and they feel the push to get into certain colleges and live up to expectations, a weight that can be overwhelming for many.

Balancing that weight requires strategies that aren’t taught in any classroom. For junior Joseph Alvarado, that means leaning on his faith, talking with friends, and knowing when to take a break. “I just watch Spider-Man, and that usually makes me feel better,” he shares. It’s a simple but powerful reminder that brains need to recharge and that mental health is just as important as academic performance.

And when these students think about their own futures, their definitions of success are very different. For some, it’s a peaceful life surrounded by people who appreciate them. For others, it’s finding a purpose that fuels them every day. These are goals that can’t be summarized with a GPA. The students at MLEC have a clear perspective on what success truly means.

So, do grades define a student’s intelligence? The answer echoing through the MLEC community is a resounding no. Grades are a snapshot of a student’s performance in a specific, structured system. They measure a certain kind of focus and a strong work ethic, and that is valuable.

Still, they don’t measure curiosity, creativity, or character. They don’t measure resilience or emotional intelligence. The most important kinds of smarts, the ones that build fulfilling careers and meaningful lives are the ones that never make it onto a transcript. And that’s a story worth remembering long after the final bell rings.