Capturing authentic academic ability: The role of mental health in youths' academic lives

This article examines the critical relationship between mental health and academic performance among youth in the United States of America. By exploring the author’s concept of Authentic Academic Ability (AAA), the article highlights how students' true academic potential can be masked by mental health challenges such as anxiety, depression, and attention-related disorders. These mental health challenges often manifest themselves in truancy issues or poor academic reporting. Recent statistics show the growing mental health crisis among youth, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the urgent need for response. The article calls for a reformation in assessment methods, advocating for personalized evaluations that consider mental health as a fundamental factor and personal learning styles. Suggestions include alternative forms of assessment, mental health interventions, and the integration of more contemporary, flexible learning methods such as project-based learning. The author advocates that students should be accurately evaluated based on their true intellectual capacity, devoid of the influence of external emotional or mental health challenges.