More Than a Number: Gifted Asian American Students’ Perceptions of Grades and Pressure

Abstract

Grades play a critical role in both quantifying students’ academic accomplishments and identifying gifted students. Most previous studies measure average grades across subjects or use questionnaires to ask students’ likelihood of getting good grades. However, numerical grades are unable to explain how students’ perceptions of their grades and its relation to pressure. Gifted students may view grades differently and value them greater than students in regular high schools, warranting further research. We utilized semi-structured interviews with Chinese (n = 18) and Korean (n = 4) immigrant gifted adolescents. An inductive thematic analysis revealed three main themes: contextual pressures, perceived meaning of grades, and reactions to pressures. Findings reveal that the combined pressures of parental expectations, peer comparisons, and self-imposed pressure heighten these students’ experience of stress in these pressure-cooker environments. We highlight how culture-specific stressors, such as the model minority stereotype and parental expectations, play a significant role in students’ perceptions and internalization of academic pressures and the resulting effects on their self-efficacy.

Plain Language Summary

Gifted and Under Pressure: Asian American High Schoolers Talk About Grades

Grades play a critical role in both quantifying students’ academic accomplishments and identifying gifted students. Most previous studies measure average grades across subjects or use questionnaires to ask students’ likelihood of getting good grades. However, numerical grades are unable to explain how students’ perceptions of their grades and its relation to pressure. Gifted students may view grades differently and value them greater than students in regular high schools, warranting further research. We utilized semi-structured interviews with Chinese (n = 18) and Korean (n = 4) immigrant gifted adolescents. An inductive thematic analysis revealed three main themes: contextual pressures, perceived meaning of grades, and reactions to pressures. Findings reveal that the combined pressures of parental expectations, peer comparisons, and self-imposed pressure heighten these students’ experience of stress in these pressure-cooker environments. We highlight how culture-specific stressors, such as the model minority stereotype and parental expectations, play a significant role in students’ perceptions and internalization of academic pressures and the resulting effects on their self-efficacy.