Pubdate: Thu, 26 Aug 1999 Source: Summit Daily News (CO) Copyright: 1999 Summit Daily News Contact: http://www.summitdaily.com/ Author: Martha Mendoza POLL: TEENS' GREATEST PRESSURE IS GRADES, NOT SEX OR DRUGS SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Ashley Mitchell, a 16-year-old junior, isn't feeling pressure to use drugs or have sex as she heads back to school this fall. She's worried about her grades. And she's not alone. A new survey released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Education asked 1,015 to list the top one or two pressures they face. The largest group — 44 percent — cited "the pressure to get good grades," and 32 percent said getting into college was among their greatest concern. Twenty-nine percent said fitting in was one of the greatest pressures they face, 19 percent listed the pressure to use drugs or alcohol, and 13 percent listed the pressure to be sexually active. "I'm worrying about my future," said Miss Mitchell, who lives in San Jose. "That's a lot more important than worrying about whether to drink at a party," The poll found three-fourths of the high school students said their future looked promising, while two-thirds said their lives were somewhat tough. When given a list of regrets older people often say about their high school years, the majority of students polled rated "should have taken school more seriously" at the top of the list. The new poll was released by Secretary of Education Richard Riley during a speech in which he urged business leaders in Silicon Valley to support technology in schools. The poll was conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and paid for by Shell Oil Co. "As educators, parents and concerned citizens, it is important for us to listen to what students are telling us about their lives and their aspirations," Riley told the business leaders. "This survey clearly shows us that today's teens are not a generation to be discounted." Across town at San Jose's Del Mar High School, Bobbie Sublette was registering her daughter Candice for classes. She said the academic competition there is stiff, particularly in the honors classes her daughter takes. "I don't put pressure on her myself, oh no. But she knows that to get a job she's going to have to go to college, and that takes work," Ms. Sublette said. Duncan Chaplin, a research associate at The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., a not-for-profit nonpartisan social policy research group, said most young people today realize they need to finish high school and go to college to earn a good living. Many high schools are also setting higher standards, with more rigorous testing and requirements for graduation, he said. "The payoff to finishing more education has increased, and that presumably has added more pressure to kids," Chaplin said. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart