There are more people out there that make incorrect assumptions about what makes a student a “good student” than the average person would think. That term is used quite often for high school students because that is when their plans for after high school are being made. To me, there are a lot of things that could go into what makes a good student. One subpar quality does not take that characteristic away from them. On average, one out of every three college students drops out after their first year. The main reason why they drop out is because they were not ready for the rigorous and fast-paced work that the collegiate level of education gives. A common misunderstanding amongst college-bound students is that grade point average tells how good of a worker and student someone is. Although important, GPA does not show everything about someone. 

The academic integrity of an individual comes into question when you evaluate it in more detail. Someone could finish with a 4.0 GPA or higher simply because they used their sources to do all their assignments and tests for them. High schools are very strict about this kind of thing, but it’s very different in college, meaning that they’re even more strict at that level. It could also go the other way around. An individual could be a very hard worker who does their assignments on time, but the weakness of this individual is on exams/tests. That adds up when it’s time to print transcripts for colleges. 

Grades for the four required courses (math, english, science, and social studies) at State High consist of more than half of it being test scores. Standardized tests play a big role in what makes a student a good student, too. That’s when the individuals who are not good at taking tests but are good students overall can shine because there isn’t one certain unit they have to study for a relatively short amount of time. It’s all about what they know and have been studying in class throughout the school year. They are considered “tests” but there isn’t a time limit on any of them. As I previously mentioned, it’s about prior knowledge, not how much you can shove into your brain and then forget about later. It is a different kind of test which helps out hard-working students a lot. The difference between a good, more deserving student and one who lacks both is how much they know and do, which goes further than just overall scores on assignments and tests.