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Adults Earn an Overall C+ Grade on Teen Report Card

6/28/2006:   American adults brought home a disappointing report card this year from the country's youth. Results from the eighth annual report card from Uhlich Children's Advantage Network (UCAN) and CWLA reveals more F grades for adults across the board than ever before, with only 2 of the 24 life subjects included in the survey showing improvement. Overall, adults earned an average C+ on the report card.

The UCAN Teen Report Card annually reaches more than 1,000 American teens, ages 12-19, asking youth to give an A through F grade to the adults in their lives. The study evaluates the day-to-day performance of adults in important areas like honesty, leadership, and listening, and provides an outlet for teens to turn the tables and pass grades on the individuals who are traditionally grading them.

"This report should be used as a tool to help adults understand what matters to young people, and prompt us to listen to and communicate with the teens in our lives," says Linda Spears, CWLA's Vice President of Corporate Communications and Development.

Following are highlights from the Teen Report Card:
  • Fifty-three percent of teens gave adults favorable ratings for teaching positive values.

  • Adults received the highest average grade for providing young people a safe place to live.

  • Adults received the lowest average grade in stopping young people from drinking.

  • This year, youth also gave adults an above average grade in teaching positive values, providing a quality education for young people, creating job opportunities for the future, spending quality time with their families, protecting teens and kids from gun violence, building healthy relationships with young people, and preventing child abuse.

  • More than 40% of young people also gave adults a below average grade in running the government, protecting the environment, really listening to and understanding young people, and stopping young people from using drugs.

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