At a glance
- 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data show a connection: higher grades, and students being less likely to use alcohol.
- School health professionals, officials, and decision makers can use these findings to understand this connection. They can also reinforce policies and practices that discourage alcohol use.
Key findings
Compared to students with lower grades, students with higher grades are less likely to:
- Have had their first drink of alcohol before age 13.
- Currently drink alcohol.
- Currently binge drink.
Figure 1: YRBS 2019*
Alcohol behaviors, by type of academic grades earned—United States, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2019*
Summary
- 12% of U.S. high school students with mostly A’s had their first alcoholic drink (other than a few sips) before age 13 years. This compares to 26% of students with mostly D's/F’s.
- 27% of U.S. high school students with mostly A’s reported current alcohol use. (This was defined as at least one alcoholic drink on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey.) This compares to 40% of students with D's/F’s.
- 13% of U.S. high school students with mostly A’s reported current binge drinking. (Binge drinking was defined as four or more alcoholic drinks within a couple hours for females; five or more for males. This would occur on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey.) This percentage compares to 23% 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 alcohol behaviors and academic grades.
Conclusions
These YRBS results show a significant association between alcohol use behaviors and academic grades. More research could help determine:
- Whether lower grades in school lead to alcohol use behaviors.
- If some other factors lead to these alcohol use behaviors.
- If alcohol use behaviors lead to lower grades.
There is a close relationship between health and education. Prevention policies for changing the youth environment (such as reducing the availability of substances) can also be part of a comprehensive approach to reduce youth substance use. 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.
YRBS is conducted every 2 years during the spring. YRBS provides data representative of 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.