I was a junior in high school, and it was the first day of my English elective "Advanced Grammar."

It's probably no surprise, but I was a giant nerd in high school. I was excited for the class not only because I wanted to dig some juicy academic teeth into the ins and outs of grammar but also because this class was with my favorite teacher, Mr. Maguire.

As we waited for Mr. Maguire to start class, the student sitting behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to face them. They looked me squarely in the eye and said, "I bet I can get a higher grade than you in this class."

Now, you might be thinking this classmate had a grudge - an academic vendetta - that there were secretly nursing to this very moment. They were springing their trap to finally crush their hated rival.

You would be wrong. I did not know this person. I don't even remember their name. What I do know is this was their first and last mistake.

For the rest of the nine week class every time we got a quiz or a test back the same student would tap me on the shoulder and ask, "So, what did you get." Well they asked for the first several tests. I was not the 'show off' kind of nerd but I also wasn't about to hide my performance. Every time my grades were 99, 100, 104, 103. His grades, unfortunately, were not.

Eventually he stopped asking. I ended the class with the highest grade overall with a 103 percent.

I've been thinking a lot about this story recently. Why he chose to challenge me - I'll never know. But how I won - I DO think I know.

In my work with students, one critical mindset is how they think about their grade or score. The more important the test, the more critical the effect, and it is this:

If I focus on the score, the end result of the test the worse a student tends to perform.

Or to put it more positively, if I focus on doing the test, not the outcome, the better I will perform.

My sad grammar opponent is a case in point. He decided, from the beginning, to make his work in the class about the grade, about the outcome, about some unprovoked competition. I focused on doing the work.

As I remind my students, focus on the work - the score will take care of itself.