How I have learned helplessness

First, let's clear up that I am not an A student.

In the past, I have not been very good at doing the assigned reading and I would get Cs on exams. Sometimes I just wouldn't get to my 8am class. I have never skipped an assignment that had to be turned in, but I just wouldn't do the reading. Especially since the teacher would just talk about it in class. I didn't see the point.

My goal for this semester was to never miss class and to do all the assigned reading. I made it through the entire semester. I never missed class, although I was occasionally a few minutes late. I read every stinkin' assigned page. It took forever. It is an amazing feeling to look at my textbooks and realize that I have read every chapter in them. I love flipping through and seeing all of my highlighting a.k.a procrastination of learning.

I have learned so much more this semester than all other semesters combined. But it has not been reflected in my grades! I still get Cs on exams! I study more and I know more. I get 100% on almost every essay section of my exams. I just can't get the multiple choice parts right. I know the information but I try to apply the test questions to real life. This leads me to a lot of "all of the above" answers because a lot of things can happen in real life.

I read, I get a C on the test. I don't read, I get a C on the test. I want to continue doing all of the reading next semester because of how much I have learned but it is discouraging that it doesn't show in my grades. And this is how I have learned helplessness.