Wow, thanks everyone for sharing your opinions, and a special thanks to cernan!
I will definitely go check out that book

I'll answer this even though I'm in college.

1) No I never got rewarded for my grades. My mother always told me that I wasn't doing it for her or anyone else, I was doing it for myself. She would help and encourage me, but didn't feel forcing me or bribing me was the best way. I think I tried harder that way thinking that I was actually doing it for me not because my parents wanted me to.
2) i'm in college so I guess that doesn't apply to me, but I chose them because they're for my major.
3) I think all standardrized tests are crap. They don't ever actually tell you about how smart someone is. I never took them, my mom felt the same way. My sisters did not, so I formed my own opinion about it.
4) Not a teacher but I am a parent, I think good grades should be encouraged but that shouldnt' be everything. We all know that some people just cant' tests they stress but many classes only build a grade on your tests.
5) I always wanted to do as well as my friends but was never bothered when I didn't.

1) Yes, especially my mom. She knows I want some things badly so she bribes me to increase my grade to pursue it. When I get a bad grade, my mom gets angry at me and even threatens to throw me out. They probably try to get me some good grades to get in a good school and have a great career.

2) I don't even get to choose my classes, well, except for a few which I didn't get in but I got Chorus. I though it would be good but it's so boring!!

3) My mom is making me take these classes in order to get a good grade on PSAT and SAT. Honestly, they're just for colleges and I don't want to go to business schools. I really want to have a career in the entertainment industry.

4) n/a

5) Yes, I do, especially here in New York. We have 5 specialized top high schools, 3 of the highest, Stuyvesant High School, Brooklyn Technical High School and Bronx Science. Most people are usually stressing over to go there, which we have to take a test to go. Those 3 top high schools have a lot of pressure on kids because a lot of the kids that go there are very bright. For colleges, we have NYU, which many people would kill to go there.

6) Not really. It doesn't really matter what school you go to as long as you keep up with your work and you're satisfied.

To give you a UK spin on things

1) Have your parents ever bribed your or reward you for bringing home good grades? What are your parents' reactions when you bring home a BAD grade (such as a C or lower). Why do you think your parents would try any means to get you to get good grades?

No, but I'm pretty lucky in that I get my good grades (touch wood! don't want that to change in my last year of A-levels...) I think the only time they would be upset would be if I got a grade that they knew I was better than if I'd got it cos I hadn't put the effort in.

2) Why did you choose the classes you are taking now? (Again, this is mostly for USA, as USA stresses more on AP courses and Honor courses in high school).

Yeah, this is more of a USA thing. I'm doing my A-level subjects, but I'm also taking AS physics as an extra just because I think it will help at Uni seeing as I want to do chemistry. Last year I also did an extra AS and GCSE Italian mainly because I could. Extra UCAS credit also helps

3) Many people are constantly being reminded about scoring high on SAT tests. TONS of students are taking SAT prep classes. What is your opinion on this, and are you "forced" to follow these examples?

I think thats another difference, I'm not really sure how SAT tests in the USA align with the UK, but we have SAT tests here at the end of Key Stage 1 (aged about 8?) Key Stage 2 (age 11) and then at the end of key stage 3 at about 13/14. In my opinion those are totally pointless because the kids get nothing from it, its just for the schools and league tables. Especially in the younger kids I think its really bad cos to put a bunch of 8 year olds through the kind of stress some schools do is juts not worth it.

4) I know some of you are parents here, so this question is more directed at you. Do you (as parents or teachers) feel that school grades are too emphasized? (It would be interesting to hear this from an adult's point of view).

N/A. I'm still a dirty student.

5) Do you feel very pressured about competing with your fellow classmates when it comes to scoring high on tests and being accepted into universities/colleges?

Not pressured, but I like it when I do best and I am keen to get into a good uni. The pressure comes from me if anyone.

6) Anything else that would contribute to this?
I think this all depends on what the grades are for, if its just for the school/college whatever to boost its rep then somethings wrong there, but i think its important people are encouraged to their best in exams if its for their own benefit (eg. jobs etc). some people do need a bit of a kick in the rear to do their best

Hey Josie -

There's a book that I had to read/annotate for AP Language called The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins. You may have heard of it. It was written by a journalist and focused on a couple of students at my high school, Walt Whitman. It deals almost entirely about your topic. It may be an interesting read for you.

I graduated last year as well.

1) Have your parents ever bribed your or reward you for bringing home good grades? What are your parents' reactions when you bring home a BAD grade (such as a C or lower). Why do you think your parents would try any means to get you to get good grades?

They never rewarded me for bringing home good grades.

If I got a low grade, they would talk to me and encourage me to study more for that particular subject, and ask me if there was anything I needed help with.

I think they wanted me to get good grades so that I would have more opportunities than they did when they were my age.

2) Why did you choose the classes you are taking now? (Again, this is mostly for USA, as USA stresses more on AP courses and Honor courses in high school).

I chose the classes I felt that I could handle best, and that I would be most interested in.

3) Many people are constantly being reminded about scoring high on SAT tests. TONS of students are taking SAT prep classes. What is your opinion on this, and are you "forced" to follow these examples?

SAT prep classes were an option in my school, I actually have not taken the SAT's.

4) I know some of you are parents here, so this question is more directed at you. Do you (as parents or teachers) feel that school grades are too emphasized? (It would be interesting to hear this from an adult's point of view).

5) Do you feel very pressured about competing with your fellow classmates when it comes to scoring high on tests and being accepted into universities/colleges?

No, not at all.

6) Anything else that would contribute to this?

Nope, but goodluck with your report!

1) Have your parents ever bribed your or reward you for bringing home good grades? What are your parents' reactions when you bring home a BAD grade (such as a C or lower). Why do you think your parents would try any means to get you to get good grades?
Yes my parents do bribe me and they get disappointed and angry when i bring home a bad grade. I think they want you to get good grades becuase they want you to be successful in life. Also they want you to do the best you can.
2) Why did you choose the classes you are taking now? (Again, this is mostly for USA, as USA stresses more on AP courses and Honor courses in high school).
I'm taking Honor Spanish 2 because it looks good on my college application. I started taking Spanish in 8th grade and that counted as a year in a foreign language and I should be done but i decided to take another year.
3) Many people are constantly being reminded about scoring high on SAT tests. TONS of students are taking SAT prep classes. What is your opinion on this, and are you "forced" to follow these examples?
Again, this has to do with your future and getting into good colleges and jobs after. I think that it's not a bad thing to take SAT prep classes. I've taken them and they've helped. I guess your not exactly "forced" to follow these examples. You don't have to score high but later you might regret it.
4) I know some of you are parents here, so this question is more directed at you. Do you (as parents or teachers) feel that school grades are too emphasized? (It would be interesting to hear this from an adult's point of view).
I don't know, not a parent
5) Do you feel very pressured about competing with your fellow classmates when it comes to scoring high on tests and being accepted into universities/colleges?
OH YES! Pretty much my entire life I've been labeled as a nerd . Sometimes I feel i have to live up to that rep. and i'm also very competitive when it comes to things i'm good at (like English, reading, etc). It makes me feel good about getting the highest grade in the class.
6) Anything else that would contribute to this?
nothing else but good luck on your report

ill give input even though i graduated high school last year... and im not currently in college
1. yeah my parents would reward me if i got good grades... i remember the end of 11th grade year i got good grades and my parents said if i came home with good grades they'd get me an ipod, and thats what happen
my dad would deal with me getting bad grades easier then my mom, but idk that was mostly during middle school when i got to high school they'd get really mad 9th and 10th grade year, they'd ground me i couldnt go on the computer or watch tv, but after that they didnt really do anything they knew that i knew i had to do better
2. i never took any honor or AP classes my high school years till my senior year, i took AP Art History and AP Psychology manly because my english teacher told me i should go into art history cause id enjoy it, plus if i passed the AP Exam at the end of the year it'd look really good on college transcripts cause its the hardest AP class there is and i wasnt expecting going into AP Psych but i guess the school just put me in because i was taking reg. pysch the beginning of my senior year semester
3. i never took the SAT or ACT's mainly because i was lazy and never wanted to do it, plus i knew i was going to go to community college and would of prefered to take the CPTs cause i heard they were much eaiser
i mean their were classes after school certain days for SAT prep classes and many people had help books about it but idk i dont think your forced to do all that
5. i think theres always competion between classmates whether your friends with the person or not, people always want to do better then the other person

thats all i can think about right now... if anything comes to mind ill edit my post

Hi everyone
I'm writing an article for my school newspaper (in the Opinion section), and I need some ideas and help from you guys.
Here is the main question:
Do you think grades are too emphasized in schools? (This might apply more to students in the United States, but I think it is quite common around the world).

Please think about these:
1) Have your parents ever bribed your or reward you for bringing home good grades? What are your parents' reactions when you bring home a BAD grade (such as a C or lower). Why do you think your parents would try any means to get you to get good grades?
2) Why did you choose the classes you are taking now? (Again, this is mostly for USA, as USA stresses more on AP courses and Honor courses in high school).
3) Many people are constantly being reminded about scoring high on SAT tests. TONS of students are taking SAT prep classes. What is your opinion on this, and are you "forced" to follow these examples?
4) I know some of you are parents here, so this question is more directed at you. Do you (as parents or teachers) feel that school grades are too emphasized? (It would be interesting to hear this from an adult's point of view).
5) Do you feel very pressured about competing with your fellow classmates when it comes to scoring high on tests and being accepted into universities/colleges?
6) Anything else that would contribute to this?

Okay.. so anything you guys can say would be GREAT. I just need some brainstorming (and of course, I WILL NOT steal ideas/plagiarize/whatever).
If you guys can give me some personal observations and what not, I'd greatly appreciate it.

Once I write out my rough draft (which might be around next week or so), I will post it up here so you guys can give feedback and critique it.

Thanks!!