Study shows students whose buddies have better GPAs more likely
to improve their own test scores By Mary Elizabeth Dallas
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 13 (HealthDay News) -- High school friendships
can influence students' academic performance and progress,
according to a new study. When surrounded by friends with a
higher grade point average, teens have a tendency to perform
better and boost their own GPA during the school year. The
opposite is also true, researchers cautioned: Students whose
friends had a lower GPA were more likely to do worse in school
over time. "While most educators already know the importance of
social environment for a student's academic success, our study
presents the first quantitative supporting evidence for such
empirical knowledge," the researchers wrote in the study
published Feb. 13 in the journal PLOS One. The researchers from
Binghamton University and Maine-Endwell High School, in New
York, asked 11th-grade students to divide other students into
one of five groups: best friends, friends, ac