( CNN ) -- Whoever said names will never hurt you was wrong , according to a new study . A new study suggests exposure to verbal put-downs from peers can make it harder for good students to achieve . The study from the University of Illinois suggests dealing with classmate put-downs can make it harder for good students to learn and make it more difficult for students who are behind to catch up . The first-of-its-kind study cited a national sample of data from the U.S. Department of Education on more than 10,000 high-school sophomores in more than 650 U.S. high schools . One in five respondents claimed they were often `` put down '' verbally by their peers in school . `` I think it 's sort of a wake-up call for a lot of us that this kind of verbal harassment is going on in schools , and it 's contributing to a learning environment that is quite disruptive for kids , '' said Christy Lleras , a University of Illinois assistant professor of human and community development , who worked on the study . See details about K-12 schools , teachers » . It 's not only an issue at public schools . Lleras said the research shows these put-downs are just as big a problem in private high schools as well . Referring to private schools , Lleras said , `` They were certainly doing a good job at making their kids feel safe , but they were not insulating them from emotional harm . '' Results of the study indicate boys are likely to experience these put-downs more often than girls , especially at private schools . The university 's study also measured the issue among racial and academic lines . African-American high school students who considered themselves very good students were shown to be more likely to be the victims of verbal abuse from their peers . Lleras believes the put-downs are a way of coping for students when they are struggling to do their classwork . Regardless of the reason , she thinks it 's time schools did something about it . `` A lot of time we 've been focusing on physical abuse -- bullying , '' said Lleras . `` However , if one in five kids ( is ) experiencing this ... this is something that 's become an everyday culture among our adolescents . I think knowing that , schools are going to have starting to address it . '' The study appears in the Journal of School Violence .
University of Illinois study is first to study effects of classmate put-downs . Score: 6 Professor on high level of verbal harassment : `` I think it 's sort of a wake-up call '' Study finds name-calling is a problem in public and private schools .