From the moment we enter high school, we are told our grades will determine our future prosperity. While this statement is supposed to motivate high schoolers to do their best and meet great academic standards, for me and many others it only creates unnecessary stress. High school students have to balance at least eight classes, each with varying workloads, accompanied by sports, clubs and a social life. Even with these required credits , students are expected to get a high GPA and achieve exceptional test scores. The pressure dumped on high school students can lead many to struggle with completing work on time, studying and earning good grades. However, for some students, the stress of wanting to succeed may have a positive impact on their academic performance rather than a negative one.
Stress can negatively impact a person’s academic success, according to Tyler & Francis Online, “In a longitudinal study, high school students exposed to chronic stress had lower grades than those infrequently or never exposed to stressors.” The reasoning behind this is more scientific than it may seem, since stress is directly related to brain function. When writing for the American Brain Foundation, Dr. Teshamae Monteith said that long-term stress can “impair cognitive abilities, making it harder to focus, make decisions, and regulate emotions”. Dr. Monteith’s statement provides substantial corroboration for why the brain may go completely blank during a test, despite completing necessary preparation. Students who experience memory loss due to stress are more likely to miss questions they know the answer to, leading to lower grades. As indicated in Harvard Health Publishing, “Stress and anxiety affect the memory because they make it harder for you to concentrate and lock new information and skills into memory.” When learning a new concept, students experiencing overwhelming weeks may not retain as much information as those who had a calm week. Considering how fast-paced learning is for high school students, missing key information could negatively affect their future test scores.
While there is substantial evidence that shows how stress negatively impacts a student’s academic performance, many argue anxiety may have a positive impact as well. For instance, UC Irvine argues that eustress (also called “good stress”) can be caused by “setting ambitious goals and having high expectations”. This demonstrates a direct correlation between high expectations for yourself and reaching those self-set expectations. Furthermore, students who set aspiring goals for themselves are more likely to succeed because they experience just enough good stress to want to excel. As stated in an article by the American Psychological Association, “Some amount of stress is beneficial and can motivate students to perform better”. The reasoning behind this is simple: If you are stressed about something, you want to get it over with as soon as possible. As soon as this stressful test or day is over, your mind and body are put at ease and enter the relaxation phase. During this phase, your hormones can return to normal, your muscles can release tension, and your energy will be restored to its usual level.
Academic stress plays a huge role in high school students’ performance. In most cases, academic stress leads high school students to receive much lower grades than those who experience no stressors. On the other hand, some debate whether stress can have a positive impact on high school students’ academic performance. They argue that setting high goals for academic achievement can actually lead a student to reach that goal. Overall, stress has both beneficial and detrimental effects on a high school student’s academic performance because students experience stress differently, and each individual has a different way to manage their stress.
