Grades ruled my life as a young person, so I can't imagine what it would be like to have this feature at your fingertips. And the randomness of the grades posting? It feels like it's (unintentionally...I hope?) using a common design trick known as "random reward systems." It's the unpredictable "reward" that can lead to habitual checking. Someone put these updates on a schedule!
Same. I cared a lot about my grade. I could see myself checking PowerSchool or Google Classroom whichever platform constantly. It also makes me wonder...about how it may reinforce anxiety, stress or behaviors/habits.
“I keep opening my grades constantly because like, if something drops, I'm like, oh, what happened? I'm emailing my teachers… [I check PowerSchool] probably at least like 5 to 10 times a day. But with the online thing, you don't know what you did wrong and you have to wait, talk to the teacher, get the assignment to then see what you did wrong.”
Citation: Nearfield. (2026, April). Spring 2026 Gen AI and social media listening loop [Collection of participant quotes]. Nearfield Listening Library. www.thenearfield.org/quotes/powerschool
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A record of youth quotes from our listening sessions, updated continuously. Preserved with care.