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.

New York – May 7, 2015 – 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.

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.