Do School Grades At An Earlier Age Affect Mental Health?

A new study published in the Journal of Health Economics looked at adolescent mental health and the impact of introducing earlier compulsory school grades.

“The study is about the relationship between age when exposed to school grades for the first time and wellbeing,” study author Anna Linder told us. “We wanted to see if there was an effect of introducing earlier grades, in 6th instead of 8th grade, on childrens’ mental health.”

The researchers hypothesized that grades at an earlier age may introduce school related stress. Some children may not be developmentally ready process feedback in a positive or constructive way, and then the grades at an earlier stage my instead lead to negative outcomes.

“There is a general trend in Sweden and in other countries towards more intense testing and grading of students,” Linder told us. “In Sweden we have reformed the school grading system several times, with very little focus on how it impacts the students health and wellbeing.”

The researchers used sociodemographic and clinical data from Swedish records on over half a million children. To understand how earlier grading affects mental health, the research team used a quasi-experimental method.

“We compared mental health disorders in children born just before and just after the end of the year, which determined whether they received grades earlier or later,” Linder told us. “We also accounted for the age-related effects between children born early or late in the year.”

The researchers found that earlier grades increased the risk of internalizing disorders such as depression and anxiety among girls. The effect was particularly large among relatively low to medium performing girls.

In previous studies, the researchers found that girls are particularly sensitive to performance evaluations when it comes to their mental health. For example, they found that receiving grades that were higher than their actual skill level had a positive impact and those girls had fewer mental health diagnoses and required less prescribed medication compared to peers who did not receive inflated grades.

“I don’t believe grades are inherently harmful, nor do I think we should eliminate them or delay their introduction,” Linder told us. “However, it’s important that we, politicians, teachers, and parents, recognize that grades impact children differently and ensure appropriate support is available when needed.”