It's 3:00 pm, you still have at least three more hours of homework with the eight worksheets, two projects, one presentation, and one essay you were assigned. Not to mention you have all that plus an hour and a half sports practice, a leadership meeting, and a choir concert. By the time you are in bed it is a quarter past two am, but the thoughts of school still cloud your mind as you drift off.

Do you ever feel that the only thing you ever have time for is school? If the answer is yes, you are not alone, there are 3 million high schoolers in the United States just like you who are battling school stress each and every day. These stresses can come from a number of different things, but they all lead to kids having to deal with way too much. 

Stated in a poll conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, “Almost 40 percent of parents say their high-schooler is experiencing a lot of stress from school.” In other words, almost half of all students face some sort of school related stress during their high school careers. Teen stress can be a result of several factors, such as, increased homework, tests and quizzes, extracurricular activities, and constant pressure from adults. These overwhelming factors in a teenager’s life can ultimately lead to drug and alcohol usage, unlawful acts, and psychological disorders.

The pressure put on these high school students is not always just from school, many of these kids are pressured from their parents just as much. According to a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, “There has also been great concern that parents' unrealistic expectations create pressure and foster performance anxiety in their children.” This overwhelming stress caused by parents can be even more detrimental to a young adult. They may become completely isolated and feel as if even their own families are against them. Pressure by parents can also result in damaging effects to a teenager; such as, depression, anxiety, and a rebellious nature. These consequences can all be prevented by parents and family members being supportive.

However, some people may argue that the rigorous curriculum being offered to high schoolers is a necessity for their futures. While this may seem beneficial, these high schoolers are, in fact, more stressed out than the average adult.  As said in a yearly survey published by the American Psychological Association,“Teens routinely say that their school-year stress levels are far higher than they think is healthy and their average reported stress exceeds that of adults…[they] reported their stress level was 5.8 on 10-point scale, compared with 5.1 for adults.” This proves that the stress a high schooler feels is greater than that of an adult, which should never be the case. At any point in their lives, no kid should have to face the same stress as a normal adult. Ultimately this depicts that the teenagers are far more stressed out than they should be because of the unnecessary pressure placed on them.
By limiting the amount of homework, tests and quizzes, and extracurricular activities, a student can focus on  true learning without having to worry about constant pressure. Parents and other family members can also play an important role in limiting their child’s stress by not exerting extra pressure on them, and instead being a support system for them. Therefore, the high school curriculum must be altered to account for the pressure faced by the students in order to create academic growth.