Stress relief for students? Dutch school blocks grade updates for parents; check details

Stijn Uittenbogaard, the economics teacher at the school created the experiment after conducting a study that revealed a clear link between parental monitoring and increased student anxiety.

A Netherlands secondary school has stopped sharing students' grades with parents in a month-long experiment in a bid to enhance performance-related stress among students. The school, Jordan Montessori Lyceum Utrecht, implemented the change after noticing high levels of student stress linked to parents' constant monitoring of academic progress via a widely used grade-tracking app, reports said.

This development has gained support, with nearly 95% of parents agreeing to this decision, though the school's parents' council suggested extending the suspension to 10 weeks.

Stijn Uittenbogaard, the economics teacher at the school created the experiment after conducting a study that revealed a clear link between parental monitoring and increased student anxiety.

According to reports, Uittenbogaard's research reveled that students whose parents frequently checked the app reported a stress level of 2.7 out of 5, while those whose parents refrained from constant tracking reported a lower level of 2.

According to Uittenbogaard, this pressure to make students meet academic standards is a relatively new phenomenon. "When I was in school, we received grades only four times a year, giving students more control over what they shared with parents," he noted.

He described the current practice, where parents receive instant notifications of their child's latest grade, as "appalling," creating a pressured home environment for students.

School rector Geert Looyschelder, who supported Uittenbogaard's proposal, emphasized that the initiative encourages personal growth over academic pressure.