This experiment will show that burnout, smaller attention spans and poor mental health all contribute to grade average dropping. All of these factors were heightened by the pandemic of 2020, which created the evident drop in high school averages. This project will prove that an effective schedule, when done properly, can help high school students prevent this phenomenon. In conclusion,  a proper schedule will eliminate factors of burnout, decreased attention span and deteriorating mental health, allowing for higher grade averages.

Abstract

Grade averages are dropping, stress levels are increasing, but what is the cause behind this? All over the globe, students are reporting feeling more stressed and overwhelmed than ever, and the result of this is reflected in their grades. Over 31% of teen in high school feel overwhelmed, and 30% of more students feel sad and depressed as a result of academic demand and stress (Neurolaunch, 2024)  The stress to succeed has always been a problem in high school students, but recently the numbers have been skyrocketing after the pandemic, leading on massive burnout in this day and age.  In this experiment, the reason for the grades falling and the solution to this  will be theorized  , in order to try and put a stop to this new silent, but deadly pandemic wave. 

Reason Behind The Limited Research 

Research on high school students has been conducted before the pandemic, but that research is inconclusive after the pandemic. The pandemic affects a students social, family, and academic life, which means the pandemic totally flipped their life upside down. Although there is no external factor stopping the research, its importance and significance  is overlooked. Students are struggling more than ever after the pandemic, and there's not enough research to support or help them get better. Our research shows how the pandemic has had an impact on students' grades dropping. Before COVID-19, it is shown how students' grades were significantly better. This phenomenon has caused an impact on students and their grades. It's crucial to find the solution, and the only way to do this is analyze the conditions/reasons for this by looking at the facts and drawing conclusive facts from it. Even though this research is just the basics, we hope that this project can draw more attention to this problem.

Burnout

Burnout is the lack of motivation, care, or energy to do anything, which is accompanied by stress, anxiety and other mood disorders. Burnout happens emotionally, physically, and mentally. Burnout causes one to be exhausted, unhappy, difficulty sleeping, low mood, low energy, annoyed, etc. An individual  in a fog of burnout will often feel drained and unable to work, since it reduces one's motivation and productivity in one's work. It's often confused with depression since they have similar symptoms.

Reason For Burnout 

Burnout can happen through various reasons, there are 4 main reasons.

• Workload: Having way too much on your plate, when one has a workload that does not match one's capacity, it causes them to overwork and burn themselves out.  Increased stress can also cause this.           
• Outcome: When one puts in a lot of effort into their work and doesn't get a similar outcome it causes one to feel like the work they did was for nothing, and see no point in their work.                                     
• Societal Pressure : Having people around you that cause you to work harder and motivate you to the best of your ability, is whom one should be surrounded by. Pressure to be the best or to excel can cause burnout                                                                                                                                                          
• Lack of control: When an individual feels as if they have no day on the work they are doing. This causes one to miss deadlines and to have sloppy work. This leads to frustration and causes burnout. 

Burnout Relation To The Pandemic 

Burnout is common in high school students before the pandemic, but after the Covid -19 pandemic the numbers of students reporting burnout have increased dramatically. Although one cannot track or ensure burnout in students, symptoms such as stress and anxiety are big indicators. The National Institute of Mental Health states that there has been a major increase in anxiety and depression in students  since the pandemic , making an evident connection. Anxiety, stress, sleep deprivation and academic pressure all contribute to the burnout of a student. Increased academic pressure and overall the pressure to succeed academically can cause these symptoms in an average high school student, as they try and plan for the future. Thus, with increased levels of these  factors, students experience a high probability of experiencing academic burnout. \

Symptoms Of Burnout

Every case of burnout is different depending on the individual, but the most common symptoms include: 

• Exhaustion or Fatigue 
• Lack of motivation to do anything 
• Cynicism and mental dissociation 
• Being overwhelmed and overstimulated 
• Reduced attention span 
• Social neglect and isolation 
• Low self esteem/ not feeling worthy 
• Procrastination levels increased 
• Daydreaming

Attention Span 

Attention span is how long a person can pay attention to one thing or task. Hobbies, work, and projects need a long attention span. Most times now people get distracted and do not have the mental capacity to focus on one thing for a long time, unless the topic is interesting to the person.Some symptoms of low attention spans:  

• Easily distracted 
• Trouble staying focused 
• Restlessness or anxiety 
• Difficult time time managing 
• Partially completing tasks before starting another 

Cause Behind Lower Attention Span 

There are many physical and psychological reasons why an individual may have a lower attention span. Recently, these are some of the leading factors to why highschool students are having record low attention spans: 

• Constant stimulation: from our phones, people in the world around us, one can get easily distracted 

• Multitasking: although many may state that multitasking  helps them focus, it promotes lower attention spans as they cannot concentrate on one single task at one single moment. Reduces 40% of attention 
• Social media/Entertainment: Social media is designed to keep a person busy and engaged, for a short time, which trains one mind to always look for brand new intriguing stimuli 
• Stress/Anxiety: when one's workload is too much, they tend to space out and stress about their work, creating the inability to start of finish their work 
• Environment: loud, chaotic or cluttered environments can also play into having a lower attention span 

Impact Of Lower Attention Spans

Some of the negative impacts of lower attention spans include:

• Decreased performance in academics or  any other work environment 
• Inability to complete daily task 
• Unpredictability of one's day- never following a set schedule due to procrastination 
• Missing crucial detail or information due to zoning out 
• Problems communicating with others 
• Health problems such as increases in depressive states, anxiety, and social detachment. 
• Procrastinating ones work until it's absolutely crucial to do it

Solutions For Low Attention Span 

In some cases, one attention span cannot be fixed due to an underlying condition such as ADHD, but for attention spans that have been influenced by one's activities, such as use of social media, there are some solutions. There are many different ways to fix one's attention span, but the easier and common ones include: 

• Sleep
• Exercise 
• Mindful activities
• Breaks 
• Practice concentrating 
• Keep things simple 
• Reduce distractions
• Decreased screen time 
• Practicing mindfulness - shows 16% of increase 
• Time management and organization skill 

 

Attention Span Relation To Grades dropping 

In school, paying attention is a crucial cognitive function that allows one to focus on a specific stimulus. In a school environment, it's crucial to help memorize the curriculum, processing and understanding the material, in order to succeed in a classroom. Attention is directly related to how well one can memorize something, which means the higher your attention, the more probable it is  for you to memorize crucial information. High school students now report that over 17% of the time, they zone out in class, due to lower attention spans. With lower attention spans, individuals in high school cannot focus on their lectures., participate in their classroom, and complete assignments on time.  The National Library of Medicine reports that students with attention problems tend to perform worse on not only standardized tests, but classroom activities., leading them to have lower grade averages. Thus, with students reporting lower attention spans from academics, in which they used social media daily for hours on end, schools all over the world are reporting lower grade averages.

 

Attention Span Relation To Pandemic                                                                                 

      The pandemic is 2020 caused attention spans to dramatically decrease. Throughout the pandemic kids got used to watching tiktok, youtube shorts, reels, etc.  the likelihood of watching entertainment shows and videos decreased drastically. If they watched the show, it would be for background noise as they scrolled mindlessly on their phones, watching 30 second videos to bid the time.  Furthermore, when kids get told to work from home it causes them to have a drastic change in their workload, pushing them to focus more. Due to their lowered attention span, studying and academics became harder, as they couldn't focus on  one thing for a prolonged period of time. 

Mental Health

The word mental health has been thrown around a lot recently, but no one knows what it means. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to mental health as a person confident with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being. Mental health is not taken as seriously as physical health is, even though mental health has the tendencies to be more deadly and injurious than physical health. Poor mental health and mental illnesses do not mean the same thing, even though they usually get mixed up as synonyms of each other. An individual can have poor mental health without a mental illness, as mental health is the capacity of one's own mind at the time of being, testing how much one can take emotionally.  

Mental Health Worsening 

In high school, students' mental health concerns have always been prominent, but recently in the years after 2020, it has become one of foremost concerns. Academic pressure on the students usually creates problems in a students mental health, as the pressure to succeed becomes daunting, and looms over time, which can lead to sleep deprivation, stress, anxiety and academic burnout. Social media is also a famous trend for teenagers, which has its bend and its losses. Though social media can be an output for stress, factors like cyberbullying, low self esteem and the constant need to be likable to society negatively affects a students mental health, which can also reflect on the grades of a student. Another event that negatively affects mental health includes, the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted a regular students life, impacting their friends , families and academics A 2021 study posted by the JAMA pediatrics found that the symptoms of anxiety and depression doubled in adolescents during the quarantine.thus, due to academic pressure, social media and the COVID-19 pandemic have all worsened mental health in kids. 

                                                                                                                                               

 

Cruciality of Mental Health

Mental health should be taken as seriously as overall health. If an individual was to break a bone, they would go to the doctors to get the proper medical help, it should be the same with a mental illness. Depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses also increase the risk of other illnesses like diabetes, strokes, and heart problems.  Overall, any mental illness can cause an individual to have a poor quality of life, it can lead them to being fatigued, anxious, tired, and nauseous. If not dealt with quickly it can lead to other major problems whether that be mentally or physically. Mental health also helps determine the wellbeing of an individual and their success in life, as one's mental health, if poor, affects the physical and social portions of that individual's life. 

Negative Factors Affecting Mental Health

There are many  factors which negatively affect mental health in a student in high school. Some include: 

• Bullying 
• Heavy workloads
• Bad time management
• Academic competition- the need to succeed 
• Academic validation 
• Peer pressure 
• Family issues 
• Lack of sleep 
• Standardized testing and pressure to succeed in the future

 

Improvement Of Mental Health

• One can improve mental health by increasing your dopamine levels. Dopamine is a feel good chemical that an individual's body produces. 
• A way  to produce it is by exercising and moving one's body. That doesn't mean only lifting weights, it can refer to  going on a run, swimming, and overall anything that a certain individual enjoys. 
• Getting  8-9 hours of sleep every night can also improve one's mental health. Good sleep can help restore stress levels, regulate mood, and reduce stress. 
• Thirdly, the individual should eat a balanced diet because it supports brain function and improves mood. 
• Lastly, an individual should increase going out in nature. Having mind breaks is refreshing and allows an individual to take a break from their problems or issues.  
• Going out can help increase mood, lower stress levels and help increase one's dopamine levels. In regards to that, improving one's  mental health means taking time to process one's  emotions, taking a break and acknowledging personal boundaries. 

 

Mental Health Relation To Pandemic 

As we know students rely on their friendships and peers, it helps them overcome obstacles rather than be in school or out. When the pandemic happened it forced the students to stay inside and learn online. The isolation caused the students to lose social development, which led to them being awkward, lonely and anxious. Losing going out with friends, whether that be a walk in the park or for lunch it caused them to feel disconnected and isolated. Furthermore, when students transitioned to online learning, students had a hard time adjusting to their new way of learning. Students felt unmotivated and unable to focus, this led to students feeling stressed about their grades. While academic demands increase students felt as if there was weight on them to do better when they mentally couldn't. Their anxiety and stress got worse when it came to the future and their grades. Moreover, With students learning from remote they spent a huge part of their time in front of the screen. Which causes disruption in their sleep patterns, eye strain and overall just tired; which leads to poor mental health. The study of lancet psychiatry (2020) shows how the mental health illness increased by 14% of depression, and 10% of anxiety. 

Mental Health Relation To Grades Dropping 

There's a strong connection between mental health and academic pressure, particularly in high school students. Students struggling with their own mental health see a decline in their own grades. Mental health problems can cause difficulty in concentration. With conditions anxiety and depression make it hard to focus in class or dinesh their assigned work. Mental health conditions like depression can cause a lack of motivation, as they struggle to find the reason to do the school work. At the same time, poor mental health causes impaired functions like memory and comprehending  information, lowering the students grades. The American Psychological Association (APA)  shows a direct correlation between bad mental health and lower GPA, the more prone that adolescent  mental health is directly related to their academic performance, and if they have poor mental health, they are prone to having low academic performance. 

Variables 

Controlled Variable 

• The type of survey questions
• Amount of participants the survey is sent to 
• Type of  survey sent out ( online survey instead of paper ) 
• Time frame for the participants to answer 

Independent Variable 

• Survey participants
• The age group of the targeted participants 

Dependent Variable 

• The survey results 

Procedure 

1. Create a document and share it with the partner
2. Add the topics to the document 
3. Create 5-6 questions per topic focusing on these desired focus 
4. Try and aim for about 15- 20 questions, varying in the way of the responses 
5. Conform the desired questions, and clarify any mistakes 
6. Open a “ Blank Quiz” document in Google sheets or any other survey creator of one's choice 
7. Input the questions on the survey, and number the accordingly
8. Make the survey anonymous and only add one personal question about the individual's grade level. To establish if the participants are in high school 
9. For each question, add the type of answer form desired form the participants
10. Finalize the survey 
11. Publish the survey and allow access for those who have the link 
12. Copy the link and send it to the participants selected 
13. Wait for the results
14. Based off the results, create and effective solution to try to solve  the problems found in the original survey 
15. Send out the Study schedule, and ask participants to try for a week 
16. Make another survey asking about the efficiency of the study schedule

Observation 

The survey which was conducted to establish the relationship between the pandemic and students. The survey tests the participants, high school students, opinions and perspectives on how their attention span, mental health and burnout levels were impacted by the pandemics, comparing pre- and post-pandemic. In terms of burnout, around ¾ of the participants felt as if their  burnout increased after the pandemic. After the pandemic, they were motivated, more exhausted, and this was reflected in their grades, as they reported their grades dropping. In terms of attention spans, they reported a lower attention span as the participants stated that during online school, they would be on their devices for prolonged periods of time, which affected how much they could focus in the classroom and at home. This causes their averages in highschool to drop as they cannot comprehend the subjects properly as they cannot focus for a long time frame. Lastly in terms of mental health, the participants stated they are feeling more stressed than ever, not only because of past graduate opportunities or the usual stress, but they stress about their grades and academics, freeing they won't succeed. This stress leads to a degrading mental health, which affects every aspect of the students life socially, physically, and academically. 

 

 

Analysis 

FIGURE ONE 

FIGURE 1: Figure one represents the participants personal opinion on how the pandemic affected their mental health, either positively or negatively. The results are fairly split, as many say there has been an effect, but not too severe.  This establishes that the pandemic has negatively affected this batch of high school students' mental health. It proves that the pandemic, to some extent, has affected a teengaers mental health. This is further supported by the following short answer questions. For example,  when asked if their grades have dropped due to the pandemic and their own mental health. Participant X states, “yes. Whenever I get burnt out or feel as if the amount of work I do doesn't show in my work, I shut down and stop trying.” , while participant Z states, “ I wouldn’t say because of my mental health I think it’s mostly because of my poor choices”. 

 

FIGURE TWO

 

FIGURE 2: In Figure two, the side bar graph represents the participants voting and stating which symptoms of burnout they are experiencing. They were given a set of symptoms, without knowing  the conditions name, and were told to select which ones they were feeling after the pandemic, in regards to school. The most common ones were procrastination and lack of motivation  as76% of participants agreed that procasiantion had increased, and 86% agreed with the lack of motivation. This draws a direct connection between the pandemic and burnout in students, showing how the pandemic has messed up many high school students academically. This is further supported by the short answer questions. Participant Q states, “Burnout really makes it hard on me cause I feel dumb and unworkable since I’m unable to keep my grades up to a certain level.” when asked if burnout is affecting their academic or social lives. 

FIGURE THREE

 

FIGURE 3: Figure three also focuses on burnout. It focuses on an aspect of burnout, which is procrastination. The graphs represent the participants' response when asked if they felt that procrastination levels have increased due to the pandemic. 17 out of 21 students said that their procrastination levels have increased after the pandemics, drawing a direct connection between the two. Around 81% of the batch of participants voted to say that the pandemic has a big role on the rising procrastination levels, which lead to grades dropping. 

FIGURE FOUR

 

FIGURE 4:The fourth figure focuses on the third  topic, which is attention spans. Due to the pandemic, everyone is shifted to  online, which means excessive and increased screen time, which has led to the problems of lowered attention spans. This graph shows the participants ability to focus in class, reflecting on if they have a poor or good attention span.  The results for this are split in the middle, but mostly leaning towards a 5-6 in ratings, meaning the quality of their attention and amount of time of their attention span is around halfway of their best. This is referenced by short answer questions  that follow. When asked how long they can focus in a classroom, Participant K responded “ Usually it depends on how the class is being taught and what is being taught, but prolly 25-30 mins.” while Participant T responded “usually the entire period or ¾” 

 

FIGURE FIVE

 

FIGURE 5: This figure describes the age group our participants are in. All participants are in grade 10,11, and 12, making the survey be based on just highschool students and their results. 

SOLUTION

(This is our result from the study schedule)

The graph above allows for participants to express if the schedule was effective or not. Participants were able to rate the schedule from 1 - 10 on how effective it was for them; 1 being the not effective, 10 being very effective. 20% choose below 50% expressing how it did not work for them. 80% chose over 50% which shows how it helped them. This graph shows that the majority of the participants had a positive experience with the schedule. Moreover, when asked if their study abilities increased after using the schedule participant R said “yes, I was able to break down my work, focus more effectively and get good grades.” While participant G said “kind of, I still need more time.” On the other hand participant A said “not really.” In the graph below participants were asked if they were able to focus more at school and at home after using the schedule. 40% expressed yes, 30% expressed kind of, 20% expressed very little change, and 10% expressed no. This shows how the majority of the participants felt a positive change from the schedule. Furthermore, how they feel in terms of mental health and stress load after the schedule participant H said “my stress load is the same and my mental health is also the same, I have my up and down days.” On the other hand participant J expressed “my stress decreased, cuz I break my tasks down into smaller ones and do them. I also don't focus on one subject at one time, so  don't fall behind.” Which shows how the schedule was effective for some and did not affect the other when it came to mental health. 

GRAPHS FROM SURVEY: 

Conclusion 

Finally, the drop of high school students' grade averages after the pandemic can be related to a combination of degrading mental health, burnout/lack of motivation and lower attention spans. These factors, along with a combination of others, have left many students struggling to grasp pieces of their old life, socially and academically. To prevent these factors for inhibiting the students longer, many different techniques can be used. By using techniques like a synrionchinzed andt imed schedule, students can find ways to balance different aspects of their lives, succeed academically, and better their mental health, attention span and burnout. To prevent this increasing and concerning decline not only in the high school student academically but the students life in general. It is crucial to recognize and realize the deeply rooted effect the pandemic has had on students, and what we, as society and as schools, can do to better it and help the students. By implementing thai schedule, asn being of assistance for the students, they relieve and aid the students, allowing them to succeed and enjoy, rather than choosing one. With the right research and solutions, such as an efficient schedule, it is definite that high school students can bring back the normally they once felt before the pandemic, as well as developing fundamental skills. 

 

Purpose

The main purpose of this project is to try and not burden students' lives, trying to make their life easier. All over the world, students are finding themselves struggling to keep up with the pressure of high school, and this project's initiative is to try and create an effective timetable and schedule to prevent drastic grade drops. This project is aimed to try and find an underlying cause for students to have a huge drop in their grades when the curriculum has stayed the same. There could be other possible factors such as personal issues or medical conditions, but there are many cases that have no relation with these conditions, but face the same difficulties. Thus, this project's purpose is to find out the underlying reason for grades dropping in high schools after the pandemic, allowing it to be easier for students to succeed. 

Application 

Doing this experiment helps to show how an efficient schedule can help more high school students. By creating an effective schedule that works according to the individual it helps to create their lives a little easier. With creating a schedule it helps them manage their workload better but still take care of themselves. After the pandemic, students have had a hard time doing well in school and getting a good routine down. This way they can get work done quickly but still efficiently, follow their hobbies, get good sleep, stay away from their phones, be productive, etc. All these points and more can help with one's mental health, attention span and burnout. Helping students implement a schedule specifically made for them will reduce stress and make them confident  in their work. 

 

Sources of Error 

• In terms of the solution, we mistimed the date we would launch the study schedule, and had less individuals use the study schedule as most of high school students were on finals break, and couldn't follow it consistently. This impacted our original input survey, and our solution survey numbers. We then had to redo the experiment to finalize and have eqaul numbers
• The experiment is targeted toward high school kids, but the high school kids results aren't always professional, affecting the general outcome of the surveys 
• Many individuals did not properly follow the study schedule,  negatively affecting the efficiency rate of the study schedule 
• The students only applied the schedule for about a week, implementing it Monday to Sunday, but the time frame is too small to have solid proof and results 
• In the experiment, the waiting period  the first survey took a longer imre the expected, pushing back our schedule making and schedule sending, affecting the time we got the results but the quality of results 
• There is not much research on this topic, so it took us longer to properly research and draw connection with evidence, making our testable question hard to answer 

 

References

ttps://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10217600/  

  Attention problems and academic achievement: Do persistent and earlier-emerging problems have more adverse long-term effects? - PMC                                                                                                        

Students Attention Span statistics reveal challenges with online learning and focus. | Gitnux.org           

The Effect of Grades on Student Performance: Evidence from a Quasi-Experiment                               

Are Students’ Attention Spans Shrinking? - Journalistic Learning                                                        

Short Attention Span: Signs, Causes & Ways to Pay Attention Better                                                    

Burnout: A Review of Theory and Measurement - PMC                                                                            

Students struggling with grades due to pandemic                                                                                   

Canadian students' math, reading scores have dropped since 2018 — but study says it's not all COVID's fault | CBC News                                                                                                                         

Persistent anxiety among high school students: Survey results from the second year of the COVID pandemic | PLOS ONE                                                                                                                      

Burnout increased among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis | Scientific Reports                     

https://healthcare.rti.org/insights/child-and-adolescent-mental-health-and-the-covid-19-pandemic  

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844021005703 

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/81-599-x/81-599-x2022001-eng.htm 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X21000389

https://www.helpguide.org/mental-health/stress/burnout-prevention-and-recovery

\https://www.usa.edu/blog/study-techniques/

 

 

Acknowledgement 

• Ms. Fauzia
• Ms.Amanda
• Survey participants- names and identities kept private for privacy reasons 
• Angad Singh
• Chahal and Khangura Family 
• Gobind Sarvar School