Here’s Why Studying to Get Good Grades Isn’t Enough

Listen to this: According to a 2017 Gallup report, “The ‘school engagement cliff’ poses a challenge for school leaders, with the starkest engagement differences occurring during the middle school years.”

In the report, it was found that Grade 5 students had a 74% engagement rate. However, when you go down the line to grades 6–12, you’ll see a drastic change in the rates. By the time students were in Grade 12, their engagement rate dropped to 34%, which is more than a 50% decline!

What happened? What is with this large divide? While there are numerous factors that can influence student engagement, today we’re going to focus on one key aspect of student engagement: motivation.

Why Do You Study?

Have you ever asked yourself why you study? If you’ve answered because ‘I need to get good grades,’ or ‘I need to be at the top of my class,’ or ‘My parents want me to,’ or ‘I just have to’ then your motivation for studying is extrinsic.

This basically means that your reason for studying is motivated by external factors and/or rewards such as grades, competition, pleasing your parents, or…