The Princeton Review Knows What's Up With Student Life

A new survey from The Princeton Review, the premier provider of educational testing preparation services, reveals that despite their efforts, parents are not fulfilling the needs or expectations of America’s teens. Below are some of the findings.

• Forty three percent of high school students report that getting into college is the main driver of academic performance, according to a new study released today by  The Princeton Review , a leading academic tutoring, test preparation and college admission services company, from its first annual  Student Life in America  report.  Student Life in America: Teens' and Parents' Perspectives on the High School Experience  sheds light on students’ study habits, stress levels and feelings towards their education and future.  The verdict: good grades are important, learning doesn’t really matter and girls are far more stressed than their male peers when it comes to homework and grades.  

  The survey also looks into parents’ roles in students’ academic success and emotional well being as it relates to high school and suggests that despite sincere efforts, parents are unable or unsure of how to provide as much emotional support and academic assistance as their child desires. And forget about boyfriends/girlfriends, clothing choices or curfews; what parents and teens fight most about is screen time.

• Stressed but Happy

• Due to the rigors of high school and homework, students are feeling the pressure.  For example, teens say they spend a third of their study time feeling worried, stressed or stuck. Despite feeling stressed, students generally have a positive outlook with 56% stating that they feel happy on a typical school day and only 4% believing they will not get into their top choice college. The survey also revealed that while female students report feeling more stressed, distracted by social media, and less positive about their relationship with their teachers than their male peers do, girls are still more likely to maintain higher GPAs.

   “With the increasing importance of earning a college degree and the challenges of college acceptance and affordability, the realities of student life have dramatically shifted,” said Mandy Ginsberg, CEO of Princeton Review.  “Parents want to help their kids earn great grades and reach their college goals, but the study clearly outlines that the vast majority of parents can’t help or don’t know how to help their students on homework.”

  Parents are trying to be a source of help, but 64% of teens feel they cannot turn to their parents for academic support because their parents aren’t familiar with the concepts being taught at school.  It’s not all bad news; students believe they get positive moral support from their parents with more than 60% of students saying their parents commend them for receiving good grades.

“Straight-A students are not born--they're made,” explains Katie O’Brien and Hunter Maats, co-authors of The Straight-A Conspiracy , who have tutored hundreds of students and were collaborators on the study. “Every student in America is capable of getting the grades he or she wants without all the stress. Managing your emotions, putting away the distractions, and creating a straightforward study plan that makes learning faster and more fun are far easier than most students and parents believe them to be.”

“These findings are intriguing and surprisingly insightful of students,” said Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman, founder and chief director of the Center for BrainHealth at The University of Texas at Dallas. “Students do not need to spend a third of their study time stressed and stuck.  In my research and programs, we recommend interval training to families.  We encourage teens to temporarily turn off their screens, even if just for 30 minutes at a time, to engage in deeper level learning.  Parents find it reduces the nightly struggle over online usage. Plus students tend to finish their homework faster and sleep better.” 

To read key findings of the study, click here.

The Princeton Review is a leading academic tutoring, test preparation and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House.

The Princeton Review has offices conveniently located in Westport, CT. and Scarsdale, NY. For more information on The Princeton Review's services for students, contact The Princeton Review's Westport, CT office at 1246 Post Rd E, Westport, CT 06880, (888) 759-7737 or Princeton Review's Scarsdale, NY office at 1075 Central Park Ave, Scarsdale, NY 10583.

Or click here and enter your zip code for local test prep options.