Academic competition is a huge problem in many high schools. At a school like SPA, where academics are highly valued, students often find that they constantly compare themselves to their peers, resulting in an attempt to compete with each other. This competition could range from getting the best grades to who can get into a more selective college. Some competition can be healthy, but the majority of it, within SPA, is not.

Adolescence is a critical time during which students make choices about college, careers, and their futures. This process is greatly affected by their peers, especially when students find themselves caught up in social comparison. Social comparison among students could be defined as the act of looking up to their peers for academic validation, academic competence, or their potential as a student. This could negatively affect their academic performance.

Sometimes, academic competition is good depending on the student. It is important that students are able to recognize when the competition is healthy or unhealthy, and when they should veer away from it. Healthy competition can result in feeling encouraged to push yourself, trying new activities, more focus on progress, and not feeling “lesser” when you lose a competition. Unhealthy competition can show up as feeling like a failure when you are not first, people are tearing each other down to win, and there is more focus on the end result. So, for the students who find that academic competition actually drives them to improve, continue. The issue is that, for the majority of students, academic competition is harmful.

In 2018, a study by the Program for International Student Assessment asked questions to students worldwide, some of whom had growth mindsets, and some of whom believed that their intelligence was something fixed and unchangeable. Social comparison is a contributing factor in forming a fixed mindset. When the study concluded, they found that students with a growth mindset scored significantly higher on tests than students with a fixed mindset. 31.5 points higher in reading, 27 points higher in science, and 23 in math. As many as 40% of students have a fixed vs a growth mindset. These children normally resent the success of peers, give more easily than others, and feel much more pressure, resulting in lower self-esteem.

Instead of focusing on peers, students should take on a growth mindset and focus on themselves and their personal development. Personal growth is important in education because it allows students to expand their capabilities and create more meaningful lives for themselves. It is also proven that when students focus on their self growth, it ends up creating more self-esteem. Students are more likely to challenge themselves, believe they can achieve more, and become stronger and more resilient. When you have this level of belief in yourself, it’ll start to benefit your academics.
To be able to build a growth mindset, you have to focus on it and try to set goals. Here are some tips:

• Identify your current mindset
• See challenges as opportunities
• Be patient with yourself
• Change your perspective on failure
• Write down your goals
• Celebrate the success of yourself and others
• Ask for feedback
• Remind yourself that you may not be good at something – YET

These tips will help you reach your goals and also create more confidence and understanding of what you’re achieving throughout the process.

Academic competition can really benefit some students, but for the majority, it ends up creating a much more harmful and challenging environment. So instead of comparing yourself to the ones around you, start focusing on your self-growth. It’ll create more self-esteem, as well as improve your academic life.