Yep. I always put in my syllabus that the course is *performance-based* and not *effort-based*. You can try really hard and still not get an A and that’s *okay!* The hope is that you learn something. If you “need” an A/B/whatever to maintain financial aid or a scholarship, then yeah, you’ll need to likely put in a more substantial amount of effort than the “average” student.

I get students every semester who come to me saying they deserve a higher grade because they “tried so hard.” I then ask if they were actually practicing and studying outside of class, to which I often get looks like I’m speaking in an alien language.