By Lucia Gabriel

After getting the results of any test, the first thing students ask each other is, “What grade did you get?” As some students get higher grades than others, jealousies and disappointments can get stirred up. One major cause of stress in high school is academic competition. 

According to Standard.asl.org, “Many students associate their worth with the red letter on their paper known as, “academic validation.” Academic validation is when your emotional values directly connect to your academic achievements.” Ms. Derisse, a school counselor at Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS), said, “Students with high academic expectations make academics their everything.” She explained that when their grades drop, they distance themselves from things they love. They also have increased anxiety as they believe they are not studying enough.  

Ms. Derisse explained that PVHS is a highly competitive school because most students who attend the school come from families in the area are significantly successful. She stated, “There is an expectation for students on how they’re perceived and an expectation of their achievements.”  

Ms. Meghan, an American Sign Language teacher at PVHS, said, “For some students, academic competition is a positive challenge because they thrive on it and that encouragement from peers gives them a goal. For others, it’s defeating.” She explained that a lot of students’ parents put pressure on them, which can be emotionally draining. Mr. Casper, a social studies teacher at PVHS, said, “Students freak out about even the smallest, what they deem, failure an 88 instead of a 91.” He said that some students are motivated to do their best to complete all their work, but if they’re unsuccessful there is a chance of them losing engagement and productivity. 

As of the 2023-2024 school year, the median Grade Point Average (GPA) for the class of 2027 is a 3.82. The median GPA for the class of 2026 is a 3.81, and a 3.87 for the class of 2025. Mr. Buttner, a world history teacher at PVHS, said, “As far as GPA, it’s very obvious that students want a higher GPA and aren’t concerned with the AP exam at the end of the year.” He believes that students would do much better if they were more concerned with learning the material, rather than just the number. Ms. Green, a math teacher at PVHS, explained that with the retake policy, students are taught to be test takers instead of critical thinkers. She said, “The motivation is grades, but in their defense, that’s how their system is set up. When colleges are looking at grades, rank, and other scores, that’s their motivation, not how much they learn.” 

With class ranking, Ms. Green explained that students with a high GPA, such as a 4.47, would place them 64^th in their class because students are “chasing the number.” She said that PVHS offers a lot of AP courses and other opportunities, so students become “GPA hunters.” 

There are some students who don’t care about grades or academic success. On the other hand, there are students who base their worth on their grades and compare how their success stacks up to their classmates. Bailey Van Der Walt, a sophomore at PVHS, said, “As someone who has been relatively successful from an academic standpoint, teachers and parents tend to have a certain expectation attached to my work.” She explained that when she has a lot of schoolwork, the quality of it goes down, causing a “fear of failure.” However, she reminds herself that she knows what she is capable of and that it is a good thing that teachers recognize that too.  

While in many cases academic competition is a good motivator and pushes students to achieve high goals, it can also lead to increased stress. According to American Heritage Schools, “While a competitive drive does increase motivation, engagement, and social skills, if it is not given appropriate parameters, it can lead to aggression, anxiety, and frustration.” This causes students to steer away from focusing on themselves and their own goals because they are overly concerned about how their peers are doing academically. Academic competitiveness has the ability to destroy relationships when students set high standards that others feel the need to compete with.  

“There’s more to life than the image of yourself,” Ms. Derisse said. Most colleges won’t want students that have a high GPA if they don’t have enough extracurricular activities. She encourages students to get involved in activities other than school, such as volunteering and joining clubs. This opens students up to a better diversity of learning opportunities without overly straining their purely academic pursuits.   

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