Between deadlines, exams, fear of failure, and anxiety, 61 percent of students say that the pressure on them to get high grades is immense. On a ten-point scale, high school students rated their stress at a 5.8/10, compared to the normal 3.8/10.

In my opinion, there is a lot of extra stress that students put on themselves to be perfect. The full extent of the stress students face is not always understood by teachers. Most of us have homework due in many, if not all, of our classes; coupled with the jobs that many students have to work, the stress piles up.

“I feel like there isn’t enough time in the day for what I want to do,” junior Kinsley Birdwell said.

I feel like I never have enough time to do the things that interest me, between work and school. In the weeks leading up to final exams, everyone is stressed out about studying enough and getting stellar grades across the board. The stress makes it nearly impossible to enjoy anything else taking place in my life, since all my thoughts are clouded with worry about exams.

“I felt like I didn’t even have time to study. I was very stressed out and it was very overwhelming,” junior Ryleigh Connell said.

Developing solutions for the high level of stress that students experience is necessary, as well as recognizing their hard work. One possible solution could be to establish a rule that homework is only allowed to be given in core classes, helping to eliminate any extra homework given by elective classes. Also, each student should have a study period that is not taken up by test prep, but is instead totally dedicated to the students needs.

Eira, Astrid. “32 Student Stress Statistics 2020, High School, College Stress Statistics.” Financesonline.com, FinancesOnline.com, 20 Dec. 2022, https://financesonline.com/student-stress-statistics/.

“Teen Stress Rivals That of Adults.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/04/teen-stress.