The Stress Symptom Inventory for Children (ISSI) was applied to 158 children, grades one trough four in a public school attending a low income neighborhood in the city of Americana, in São Paulo, Brazil. The objective was to survey the stress levei in the public school students. The sample was divided into two groups composed by either high or low achievers, according to the teacher's evaluations. The academically weak students showed greater number of stress symptoms than te others. Most symptoms were of a psychological nature.
achievement; teaching; school children; stress