Social anxiety is a mental illness and can lead to problematic behaviors in adolescents, which can have a detrimental effect on student academic success. The purpose of this study was to determine if a correlation existed between social anxiety and academic achievement emotions in virtual high school students. I used the control-value theory of achievement emotions as a theoretical framework. The quantitative study included a correlational research design consisting of participants selected using nonprobability purposive sampling at a virtual school. Participants completed one survey with two data collection instruments. The first instrument was a short version of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire Class-Related Emotion Scale. This instrument helped identify the strength of students' emotions as measured on the scale. The second instrument was the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents, which helped identify social anxiety in the population. I used a two-tailed Pearson's r correlational analysis for data analysis. I found a statistically significant positive relationship between social anxiety and students' negative achievement emotions (i.e., anxiety, shame, anger, hopelessness, and boredom), r(104) = 0.625, p < 0.001. Additionally, I identified a statistically significant negative relationship between social anxiety and students' positive achievement emotions (i.e., enjoyment, hope, pride), r(104) = -0.354, p < 0.001. This study adds to the existing research on social anxiety in distance learning and how students with social anxiety feel toward learning. A suggestion for future research is to examine how shame mitigation may increase positive achievement emotions and decrease social anxiety in distance learners. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]