Information about a student's academic rank can hurt their mental health - even if it's not true.

The long-term consequences of students’ poor mental health and its effects on their academic performance can be profound. Jonathan Norris explores how knowledge of a student’s academic ranking within their cohort can affect their mental health. He argues that while a student’s academic rank is an inaccurate predictor of their potential and actual ability, negative information about their rank can have a huge impact on their perceived future outcomes.