With the technology students in North Allegheny have access to, a student’s entire transcript and current grades are just one click away. Along with the extremely competitive nature that is created in schools these days, many students’ mental health revolves around their performance in classes. 

Tyler Student Information Systems has many features available to the students in the NA district, including viewing your transcript, prior enrollment history, student schedules, attendance history, checking current assignments, and overall grades. This system is frequently utilized by students, but the overwhelming majority of its use is to check grades. 

As many students in high school are looking into education after graduation, they want to check their transcripts’ compatibility with colleges’ requirements. The repetition of checking grades can be detrimental to students’ mental health, and create an unhealthy obsession with grades. It can put people in the incorrect mindset that their grades reflect their worth.

This can be a dangerous mindset to have because it can cause students’ moods to fluctuate along with their grades. Sophomore Claire Fiedler says, “Constantly checking Tyler makes me attach most of my self-esteem to how well I can keep my grades up. If I get a B or any bad grade on a test, it ruins my day. It raises my anxiety levels anytime I click the icon.”

Fiedler is just one example of the many students in the district that have increased stress levels with issues relating to their grades. 

Although there are drawbacks to having access to Tyler, sophomore Arianna Schiller points out that Tyler is usually stressful for students due to the amount of pressure that they put on themselves to maintain high grades. Schiller said, “It is more so how others perceive the grades themselves and how their environment affects the way they perceive them. In the end, these grades are just symbols on a screen, they are what each of us makes them.”

When students are worried about how they’ve done on a certain test or assignment, they are able to check Tyler and find out before the class the next day. Fiedler says that while the grade she received might be disappointing, knowing the score helps alleviate some of the stress around receiving the grade.

Contrarily, when Sophomore Ruby Morris was asked if checking Tyler after a test helps her anxiety, she says, “Well, I’m still stressed out either way…I’m still stressed but in like a shorter amount of time, so there’s no difference at all.” 

Tyler can be stress inducing for many students, Morris draws attention to the fact that students would be stressed about receiving their scores either way. However, having access to Tyler allows students to check for their grades more frequently, and therefore stressing over the results more often.

While all students have their own unique experiences with how their Tyler affects their mental health, it seems that when the student information system is utilized, it is usually due to stress about students’ grades. With college applications in the near future, it can become very easy for students to attach their self worth to their grades. Being able to see their grades fluctuate as scores roll in can be detrimental to their self esteem and mental health.