Seeing Beyond the Grades: Mental Health and Academic Success

Spending ten years on staff in a school is an incredible experience. It allows you to truly get to know the students and their families. As a counselor, working with the same group of students over time afforded me the privilege of building relationships that spanned entire families. I had the pleasure of guiding one such family of four siblings (three boys and a girl) through high school and into college.

When the youngest sibling started high school, I was excited to be able to work with the family again. By the second grading period, I noticed a significant decline in her grades. A transcript filled with A’s in the first grading period was suddenly showing failing marks in multiple subjects. Concerned, I called her parents who shared my worry. When we met to discuss her performance, I asked them a simple but crucial question: “What happened between the first and second six weeks?” At first, they were adamant—nothing had changed. But as we dug deeper, the reality emerged.

The student had suffered a severe cheerleading injury, effectively ending her participation in a sport that defined her social life and academic habits. To make matters worse, her parents had sold their home, and she was now living in a temporary apartment while they searched for a new house. Her world had been turned upside down, and while the emotional turmoil was evident, the most tangible sign of her struggle was her academic performance.

Academic Struggles as a Red Flag

As educators, we often focus on academic performance in a purely educational context—intervening when a student struggles in math or reading. However, when a student begins failing across all subjects, it’s often a sign of something deeper. Research underscores the link between mental health and academic success:

• Behavioral and emotional issues in early childhood are strong predictors of academic difficulties later on (Agnafors, Barmrk, & Sydsjo, 2020).
• Mental distress significantly impacts academic self-efficacy and study progress, leading to lower performance and delayed graduation (Grotan, Sund, & Bjerkeset, 2019).
• University students with impaired mental health in their first semester are at a significantly higher risk of poor academic performance throughout their studies (Chu, Liu, Takayanagi, Matsushita, & Kishimoto, 2023).
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Recognizing the Signs and Taking Action

In the case of the young student I worked with, her struggles were not due to a lack of intelligence or effort but a drastic shift in her environment and identity. Without recognizing her grades as a symptom rather than the problem itself, she could have continued to spiral academically and emotionally. Instead, by working together, her parents and I created a plan to support her academically and emotionally through this transition. Over time she was able to adjust to her new school, recover from her injury, and find new friendships.

The Role of Schools in Mental Health Interventions

Mental health challenges often go unaddressed in school settings due to a lack of awareness or resources. However, research emphasizes the importance of early intervention:

• Internalizing problems at age 12 are associated with incomplete grades and non-eligibility for higher education later in life (Agnafors et al., 2020).
• Students with severe mental health issues are significantly more likely to experience low academic self-efficacy and fall behind in their studies (Grotan et al., 2019).
• Educational institutions must collaborate with counseling services to create a more supportive learning environment (Stanley & Mathorpe, 2001; Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010).

How Ascend Student Solutions Can Help

Understanding these connections is crucial for ensuring students receive the support they need. Ascend Student Solutions provides data-driven insights and tiered interventions beyond solely academics. By identifying correlating patterns in students’ performance and behavior, educators can intervene early and effectively, ensuring that no student falls through the cracks.

For all students. For all staff. For all schools. Ascend with us.

References

Agnafors, S., Barmrk, M., & Sydsjo, G. (2020). Mental health and academic performance: a study on selection and causation effects from childhood to early adulthood. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 56, 857-866.

Chu, T., Liu, X., Takayanagi, S., Matsushita, T., & Kishimoto, H. (2023). Association between mental health and academic performance among university undergraduates: The interacting role of lifestyle behaviors. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 32(1), e1938.

Grotan, K., Sund, E.R., & Bjerkeset, O. (2019). Mental health, academic self-efficacy and study progress among college students - The SHoT Study, Norway. Frontiers in Psychology, 10:45.