Schools increasingly rely on testing, grading and performance accountability. In England, Ofsted inspections and school league tables sharpen the focus on measurable performance. Similar developments have taken place in Sweden, where repeated reforms have introduced earlier and more detailed assessments.

Performance-driven school environments shape young people’s wellbeing. Yet despite frequent reforms to evaluation systems, their psychological consequences rarely take centre stage in policy debates.

Our new study connects these trends with rising youth mental health issues. Our research shows that earlier and more formal grading can increase clinically diagnosed mental health problems, particularly among girls.

Our research examined a Swedish reform introduced in 2012 that moved the start of formal grading from grade eight (around age 14) to grade six (around age 12). This meant official grades and clearer signals of relative performance arrived two years earlier than before.

To estimate the effects, we compared children born just before and just after the reform cut-off. Because exposure depended strictly on date of birth, students on either side were similar in background but differed in whether they received earlier........

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