You can hear psychologist Karen Young, the founder of the website Hey Sigmund, shudder when she says, “We don’t even know what they’re capable of at 10! They are being put in these environments where, rather than being playful, it becomes competitive.”
And even when they are told the tests are not competitive, they are. They’re sending signals to children that they are below par, or not where they should be. “Even if teachers and parents are saying, ‘That’s great, you did a great job and we’re really proud of you,’ they are looking around them to others,” she says. And if they feel, even in a small group of four or five friends, that they sit at the bottom in marks, the message is clear. “I’m not a smart girl.” “I’m not athletic like my friends.” “I won’t be doing maths/science in high school.”