Adolescents’ academic performance is related in crucial ways to their family relationships (1), friendships (2), work patterns (3) and leisure patterns (4). Cultural beliefs are important in determining what is required from adolescents academically.

Adolescents in developed countries started going to secondary school about a century ago. Schooling became the normative experience for adolescence. The same pattern is observed in developing countries but at a delayed rate. Adolescents being in school is a direct consequence of economic development.

The content of secondary school has changed over time as well. There was no specific economic purpose of the curriculum in the 19th century but this changed as more adolescents started attending school. Schools started to focus more on training for work and citizenship. The comprehensive high school includes classes in general education, college preparation and vocational training. Many European countries have three types of secondary schools:

• College-preparatory school
  This school offers a variety of academic courses and the goal is general education. It does not include classes on recreational subjects.
• Vocational school
  This school prepares adolescents for a specific occupation.
• Professional school
  This school prepares adolescents for a specific purpose (e.g. teacher training; arts).

In this European system, adolescents need to decide relatively early what kind of future they envision. A later choice is likely more beneficial for adolescents. However, putting adolescents with different interests and educational levels together makes it more difficult for teachers to provide effective teaching. It can also be frustrating for adolescents who do have a specific idea of their future.

Rates of secondary school enrolment vary widely among developing countries. The economy is often not industrialized which makes school-based knowledge of limited use. In China and Japan, admission to university is restricted to the highest performing students. This leads to intense pressure at high school level. Secondary education in developing countries is often characterized by gender differences (1), poor funding (2), overcrowding (3), poorly trained teachers (4) and a big difference between public and private schools (5).

The goal of schools used to be socialization and conforming to the (religious) norm. Nowadays, the goal is to promote independent thinking. In developed countries, almost all adolescents go to secondary school while this is not the case for developing countries. Tertiary education is obtained by about 70% of the emerging adults in developed countries but not in developing countries.

The key influence on adolescents’ academic performance is the level of economic development in their country. This means that the developed countries tend to perform best.

Large schools can be alienating but can also offer a more diverse range of classes. There is no consistent relationship between school size and academic achievement. Students in smaller schools are more likely to participate in extracurricular activities compared to students in larger schools. The best school size for adolescents is between 500 and 1000 students. The class size should typically be between 20 and 40 students with the exception of at-risk students who should be in smaller classrooms because they need more individual attention.

School climate refers to the quality of interactions between teachers and students. This includes how teachers interact with students, what expectations the teachers have, what standards they have for students and what kind of methods are used in the classroom. Students have better outcomes when teachers are supportive and have high expectations (i.e. authoritative). Schools with a positive school climate have higher attendance and achievement test scores and lower rates of delinquency even when taking SES and IQ into account. A favourable school climate is associated with lower levels of depression and behaviour problems. It is also associated with higher levels of motivation and participation. School climate is also associated with academic, behavioural and socioemotional outcomes.

Teaching should be characterized by a combination of warmth (1), clear communication (2), high standard for behaviour (3) and a moderate level of control (4). However, it could be necessary that students, parents and teachers have the same beliefs. A school that reinforces already existing beliefs could thus promote outcomes.

Engagement refers to the quality of being psychologically committed to learning. It includes being alert and attentive in the classroom and approaching educational assignments with the aim of learning the material rather than passing. A favourable school climate enhances students’ engagement which, in turn, leads to higher levels of achievement.

There are several factors that influence school engagement and performance:

1. Parenting
   This influences attitudes toward school and performance. Parents influence this by setting expectations for achievement. Parents with high expectations also tend to be more involved and this contributes to school success. However, this may be dependent on parent SES and IQ. Authoritative parenting is beneficial.
2. Peers
   Friends influence how consistently adolescents attend class (1), how much time they spend on homework (2), how hard they try in school (3) and the grades they achieve (4). Friends’ influence on academic achievement can be both positive and negative with adolescents having better outcomes when they have high achieving friends. Adolescents tend to have better academic self-concepts and higher expectations for academic attainment when they are surrounded by low-achieving peers (i.e. not friends; big fish in the little pond effect).
3. Work and leisure
   Part-time jobs are detrimental to school performance when adolescents work for more than 10 hours per week. Abundant leisure (e.g. socializing with friends) also interferes with adolescents’ school work. However, adolescents who participate in organized activities (e.g. sports) have better academic performance. Unstructured socializing is negatively related to school performance whereas organized activities are beneficial.
4. Cultural beliefs
   The value placed on education ultimately influences school performance of adolescents.

There is a positive relationship between SES and school performance. SES represents family characteristics that contribute to achievement such as having higher IQ parents (1), better nutrition (2), better health care (3) and having fewer stressors (4). There are ethnic differences in school performance due to the previously described factors. People in Asian cultures are more likely to attribute performance to effort rather than ability, which promotes school performance.

Friends’ influence is more positive for Asian ethnic groups than for other ethnic groups, where the influence is typically negative. However, discrimination, racism and stereotype threat is detrimental for the academic achievements of ethnic minorities. The immigration paradox refers to the finding that the longer an immigrant family has been in the United States, the worse the children do in school. This may be because they internalize the cultural values of the United States more and this does not focus on education as much.

Females often outperform males academically. Girls are less likely to have learning disabilities (1), less likely to be held back a grade (2) and are less likely to drop out of high school (3). This may be because girls tend to enjoy the school environment more (e.g. more positive relationships with teachers). Additionally, adolescent girls are more likely than adolescent boys to feel supported by their parents and have supportive relationships with adults outside of the family.

Gifted students refer to students with unusually high abilities in academics, art or music. There are four characteristics of children and adolescents who are gifted:

1. Precocity
   This refers to the fact that signs of giftedness were evident at an early age.
2. Independence
   This refers to the fact that gifted students tend to prefer to work independently (e.g. they need less instruction and support).
3. Drive for mastery
   This refers to the fact that gifted students display an intense drive to master the area of their gifts. They are capable of focusing for long periods.
4. Excellence in information processing
   This refers to the fact that gifted students process information faster, learn more quickly, make fewer reasoning errors and use more effective learning strategies.

Keeping gifted students in regular classroom may lead them to become bored and alienated.

Learning disabilities refers to children with a normal intelligence but a deficit in one or more academic areas. Boys are twice as likely as girls to have a learning disability. Adolescents with learning disability often have other social and emotional difficulties in school and are at high risk of dropping out. Early interventions are most effective. Interventions with adolescents are less effective but can be effective if delivered by teachers who are highly committed and involved. ADHD is very common in learning disabilities.

High school dropout is often associated with unemployment or low-paying jobs. There are ethnic differences in dropout rates with Latinos having a relatively high dropout rate. In all ethnic groups, dropout rates are declining. Males are more likely to drop out than females.

Dropping out typically is a culmination of many years of school problems and difficulties. Dropouts are more often aggressive (1), active (2) and high sensation-seeking (3). This makes a typical classroom environment more difficult. Parents’ education and income are strong predictors of dropping out. School characteristics also predict adolescents’ risk of dropping out with school climate being important (e.g. teachers being supportive). Dropout rates are higher in larger schools, partially because it is more difficult to sustain a healthy school climate.  Substance abuse is higher among dropouts and other psychological problems are more common. Dropping out predicts a wide variety of future problems.

Programmes to prevent dropping out need to be adapted to adolescents’ individual needs and problems because the problems that lead to dropping out are diverse. Attention from caring staff (1), low student-teacher ratios (2) and early intervention (3) reduces the risk of dropping out.

Females are more likely than males to enter college. Asian Americans are the most likely to attend college. Females are more likely to major in education or psychology. Males are more likely to major in computer science and engineering. It currently takes people longer to graduate because of increased financial costs (1), switching majors (2), adding a minor (3) or taking advantage of internship programmes (4).

Retention refers to maintaining students in college until they graduate. Students’ previous academic background (1), ethnic background (2) and family SES (3) are associated with retention. Retention is higher among students of higher academic ability.

There are several programmes aimed at enhancing retention rates. This includes peer mentoring and supporting first-year students. It is important to emphasize the strengths of minority students and not just their problems to enhance retention.

There are four student subcultures:

1. Collegiate (i.e. fun)
   This refers to a subculture centred around fraternities, sororities, dating, drinking, big sports events and campus fun. School is a secondary priority. They resist attempts to become more engaged.
2. Vocational (i.e. degree)
   This refers to a subculture focused at gaining skills and a degree to get a job. They resit attempts to become more engaged as they typically work 20 to 40 hours a week.
3. Academic (i.e. knowledge)
   This refers to a subculture focused at studying for the sake of studying. They are actively engaged.
4. Rebel (i.e. identity)
   This refers to a subculture with students who are deeply engaged with the ideas presented in their courses but are aggressively non-conformist. They are sceptical of expertise. They enjoy learning but are selectively studious.

Most students are blends of the four subcultural types. The four subcultures represent different kinds of goals that emerging adults have for their college experience.

People with a college degree earn more and are less likely to be unemployed. There are also intellectual benefits of attending college. Students develop a more distinct identity and become more confident socially. They become less dogmatic, less authoritarian and less ethnocentric in their political and social views. Self-concepts and psychological well-being improve.

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are college courses presented online at no cost to the student. However, most students fail to finish this and assessment is more difficult. A lot of the benefit of university is interpersonal.

A gap year refers to a year between finishing secondary education and beginning tertiary education. There are different motivations for taking a gap year:

• Desire for a break from formal education.
• To gain a broader perspective on life.
• To develop personal skills.
• To earn money.
• To experience other people, places, and cultures.
• To do some good in the world.

People who take a gap year have higher motivation when they enter tertiary education afterwards. They also develop life skills (1), social values (2), non-academic skills (3) and qualifications (4). Educational performance is higher than for those who did not do a gap year. It is important to have a plan and not ‘waste’ a year.