Introduction: According to previous studies, when parents divorce it may increase the vulnerability of children to develop personal problems, such as lowering academic performance. This research examines the academic performance of Spanish children with divorced parents and its relation to academic self-concept and social anxiety. Method: The sample includes 342 boys and girls aged between 14 and 18 years, half (n = 171) with divorced parents, recruited from 15 schools in five counties of Spain. Participants provided information on the number of their courses evaluated as Excellent and Failure and completed the academic dimension of the Self-Description Questionnaire II and the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents. Results: Compared to youth whose parents are living together, the results confirm that youth whose parents are divorced (a) failed more examinations, and (b) had a worse academic self-concept. A multiple regression analysis revealed that it is more likely to drop for adolescent children of divorced parents who are male, older, have worse school self-concept, and live with a stepparent. Discussion: Parental divorce is related to a worse academic performance in the Spanish adolescents. The findings suggest the importance of detecting, from the educational field, school problems in those adolescents whose parents have divorced to prevent the school failure and other associated problems. (Contains 3 tables.)