At a glance
- 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data connect students' higher grades with fewer negative health conditions.
- School health professionals, officials, and decision makers can use these findings to better understand this association. They can also reinforce policies, practices, and programs to improve students' health outcomes.
Key Findings
Compared to students with lower grades, students with higher grades are more likely to:
- Get 8 or more hours of sleep
- Receive dental care.
The findings do not show that academic grades are associated with students being told (by a doctor or nurse) that they have asthma.
Figure 1: YRBS 2019*
Other health behaviors, by type of academic grades earned—United States, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2019*
Summary
- 25% of U.S. high school students with mostly A’s got 8 or more hours of sleep on an average school night. This compares to 14% of students with mostly D's/F’s.
- 1% of U.S. high school students with mostly A’s never saw a dentist—for a check-up, exam, cleaning, or other dental work. This compares to 5% of students with D's/F’s.
- 22% of U.S. high school students with mostly A’s had ever been told by a doctor or nurse that they had asthma. This compares to 25% of students with mostly D's/F’s.
Disclaimer
*Figure 1 illustrates the percentage of students who engaged in each health-related behavior, by type of grades mostly earned in school (mostly A's, B's, C's, D's/F's) (row proportions). The percentage of students who did not engage in each health-related behavior are not shown.
However, the percentages of students who did and did not engage in each health-related behavior (by grades earned) sum to 100%. Analyses controlling for sex, race/ethnicity, and grade in school confirmed a significant association between health behaviors/conditions and academic grades.
Conclusions
These YRBS results show evidence of a significant association between academic grades and some health behaviors and conditions. More research could help determine:
- Whether lower grades in school lead to these health behaviors and conditions.
- If some other factors lead to these health behaviors and conditions.
- If these health behaviors and conditions lead to lower grades.
There is a close relationship between health and education. Working together, education and health agencies, parents, and communities can ensure that students are healthy and ready to learn in school. Find out more about the connection between health and academic achievement on CDC’s Health and Academics web page.
About the data
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors priority health-related behaviors among youth and adults in the United States. In particular, YRBSS monitors behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems.
YRBSS is conducted every 2 years during the spring. YRBS provides data representative students in grades 9–12 in public and private schools nationwide. In 2019, students completing the YRBS were asked, “During the past 12 months, how would you describe your grades in school?” and given seven response options (mostly A’s, mostly B’s, mostly C’s, mostly D’s, mostly F’s, none of these grades, not sure).
In 2019, YRBS results showed that:
- 38.0% of students received mostly A’s.
- 37.1% received mostly B’s.
- 16.0% received mostly C’s.
- 4.6% received mostly D’s or F’s.
- 4.3% reported receiving none of these grades or were not sure.