Gulp Limits

Jan 21, 2016

All students, whether they’re aware or not, have built in expectations as to what constitutes a ‘good’ mark. At StudySpot, we refer to these expectations as ‘gulp limits’, because results that fall under those limits make students’gulp’, whereas results above allow students to sleep peacefully. For example, a student might have a gulp limit of 70%. If that student obtains a mark at 70% or greater, the result doesn’t require much analysis or much attention. Nothing needs to change. But if that same student ends up with a 62%, it’s action time! The student might work harder on the next test, go in for extra help, pay more attention to their homework – whatever it takes to get those marks back up across the magic 70% threshold.

The problem, of course, is that gulp limits tend to be self-fulfilling. They’re rooted in our personal expectations of achievement, and human nature leads us to put in just enough effort so that we’re over our gulp limit. Very recently, a student came in and said point blank to the coach: “As long as I get a 70% on my math test, I’ll be happy.” Really? Why 70%? Why not 60%, or 80%? Why is 70% the key number? Not surprisingly, the student ended up with a 72%. Because the student needed to get a 70%, he did exactly what was necessary, and nothing more.

This begs the question: If that same student was somehow able to increase his gulp limit, would his actual results eventually improve along with it? We believe the answer is yes, and that’s why we encourage our students to ‘raise the bar’. Before discussing how a coach can try to accomplish this, let’s spend a minute talking about where gulp limits come from in the first place.

For most students, gulp limits stem from their previous educational history. Students who tend to get results in the 80% range normally have gulp limits to match. Students who see a lot of 65% results tend to have gulp limits consistent with those experiences. Students also derive their gulp limits from their parents who will get angry with grades below a certain threshold. Like students, parents have expectations and make those expectations abundantly clear. In truth, many high school students put in exactly the amount of effort required to keep their parents and their teachers (and their coaches!) off their back.

In part 2 of this topic, we’ll explore some ways to help students increase their gulp limits…

Back

Request More Information

    Self-assessment Questionnaire

    Looking for a place to start? Try our proven self-assessment questionnaire to see if an academic coach is the right solution for your son or daughter.

    Click here to begin

    Categories

    Archives

    What people are saying about us

    • I would like to thank our coach and your organization for giving my son a great opportunity to improve. He is much more responsible now and understands the importance of working hard as well as how to work and organize himself.

      Chieko(mother of grade 10 student)

    • Thanks for your good work with our son – I believe we are starting to see some positive changes and improvements. He seems to have a positive attitude overall and he is getting at his work on his own initiative which is good to see.

      David(father of grade 12 student)

    • Our daughter feels much more confident and on top of her work and comments often about how strong her marks have become. She feels that her sessions with you have been a big reason for the turn around.

      Sharon(mother of grade 8 student)

    • Thank you very much for providing such a very helpful facility for my daughter. She has benefited so much from the program, not only for her present situation but I think for life. Your coaches were excellent and they gave her the motivation, guidance, self-confidence and self-esteem that she lacked.

      Sandora(mother of grade 12 student)

    • Our coach works hard with our son in helping him approach his academic studies with more maturity, effectiveness and independence. Our son has responded well to his mentors coaching and guidance.

      Barbara(mother of grade 11 student)