by Rachel Minske
Contributing Writer
Whether Elk River Area School District students should continue to participate in a long-running youth survey was a topic of discussion among School Board members this week.
The triennial Minnesota Student Survey is a collaborative effort with the Minnesota Department of Education and is administered to fifth-, eighth-, ninth- and 11th-graders. Local students last completed the questionnaire in May 2016.
The survey asks questions about mental health, safety, family, school, substance abuse and out-of-school activities. Questions about sexual behaviors are asked only of ninth- and 11th-grade students. All responses are anonymous.
“The first administration (of the survey) was in 1989 and Elk River has participated ever since,” Judy Johnson, manager of prevention, safety and grants for the district, told the School Board during a work session Jan. 23.
Survey results can be used for curriculum and program development, interventions and grants, Johnson said.
Not all keen on survey use
Not every board member was in favor of the survey. Board Member Gregg Peppin said he had “some serious concerns” about the survey, which he said included questions that could be considered intrusive and irrelevant.
“I just don’t know why we need to know how many times a week a student eats vegetables or how many times they drank Gatorade per week or what type of birth control they used the last time they had sex,” he said.
Peppin said he wasn’t opposed to surveying students but questioned whether the district could create its own “more relevant” survey that’s not as long as the Minnesota Student Survey, which is composed of 112 questions.
But School Board Member Jamie Plantenberg-Selbitschka said the survey offers a “temperature check” at a moment in time and its results can help staff recognize difficulties experienced by students. Plus, she said, 112 questions help ensure there’s consistency among the answers.
Johnson said past survey results have been used for federal, state and local grants. The largest grant the district received was a federal grant that allowed the administration to hire five full-time counselors, she said. She added while the district could create a survey of its own, it would take time, resources and expertise to do so.
“Could we have done our own?” asked Johnson. “Sure. But there is some status that goes along with state tests like this.”
The Minnesota Student Survey allows Elk River Area School District administrators to compare data with other districts that use the same survey, Johnson said.
In 2016, 282 of 330, or about 85.5 percent, of school districts in Minnesota participated in the survey, accounting for nearly 169,000 students, according to the Minnesota Department of Education.
Opting out of the voluntary survey is a choice either the students or parents can make; parents are notified of the survey before its administration either by email or mail and can review a copy of it. Students can opt out the day of the survey or choose to stop at any point while taking it, Johnson said. About six students per building opted out of the most recent administration of the survey, she said.
Peppin asked Johnson if, in the future, parents could be notified earlier on about some of the “R-rated” content that will appear on the exam.
About the results
According to survey results, 32.5 percent of 11th-graders in the district reported using tobacco in the past 30 days, 35 percent reported alcohol use and 23.5 percent reported marijuana use.
The majority of students reported feeling safe, with 96 percent of surveyed students answering they felt safe at home, going to and from school, at school and within their neighborhood. Eighty-eight percent of surveyed students reported knowing there is a School Resource Office at their school.
Reports of bullying or harassment were the highest for fifth-graders in every category except cyberbullying, where they were tied with eighth-graders. When asked: “During the last 30 days, on how many days have other students at school pushed, shoved, slapped, hit or kicked you when they weren’t kidding around?” Seventy-four percent of males and 81 percent of females in fifth grade answered “never,” while 22 percent of males and 15 percent of females answered “once or twice.”
Seven percent of males and 14 percent of females in eighth grade reported experiencing cyberbullying in the last 30 days.
Most students, about 83 percent, reported feeling highly engaged in school and 77 percent of surveyed students believe their school provides a supportive place for learning, compared to 75 percent of students surveyed statewide.
School Board Member Tony Walter questioned how accurate the answers are. For example, he mentioned a question on the survey that asked whether a parent or other adult in their household has ever hit, beat, kicked or physically hurt them in any way. Twelve percent of males and 14 percent of females in ninth grade answered “yes.”
“How positive are you on the numbers that we’re getting?” Walter asked Johnson. “Is that pretty accurate, do you think?”
Johnson said she believes the survey results are “very accurate.”
“The survey is highly developed,” she said. Johnson added results are usually within 2 percentage points, plus or minus.
“I can say with confidence that this information is very accurate.”
About the survey
• Administered every 3 years to 5th, 8th, 9th and 11th grade students
• Alternative learning programs (Ivan Sand) and juvenile corrections facilities are reported separately
• Collaborative effort of Minnesota Departments of Education, Health,Human Services and Public Safety
• Only consistent statewide source of data on health & well-being of youth
Healthy: Physical and emotional health are fundamental to students’ overall well-being 11th grade students use of substances during past 30 days:
• 32.5% report tobacco use
• 35% report alcohol use
• 23.5% report marijuana use
14% of males and 29% of females
surveyed report suicidal thoughts.
4% of males and 11% of females report
surveyed having attempted suicide
Safe: Students need to feel safe in order to learn and thrive
Most students (96%) feel safe in all four places: home, going to/from school, school
and neighborhood
88% of students surveyed reported
knowing there is a SRO at their school
Student reports of bullying or harassment
are the highest for 5th graders inevery category except cyberbullying where they are nearly
tied with 8th graders
Engaged: Engaged students have higher academic outcomes
Most students (83%) feel highly engaged in school with females reporting more positive feelings for school males in all six categories.
One quarter of students report being unaware of what outside of school time enrichment programs are available at their school or in their community.
Students surveyed participate more frequently in sports teams and other physical activity lessons than leadership activities, academic programs or
other community clubs.
Supported: Supportive school environments & caring relationships can foster student motivation & engagement
77% of our students as compared to 75%
of students statewide believe their school provides a supportive place for learning.
Most students have consistently caring
relationships from all five groups noted: parents, other adults relatives, friends, teachers/other adults at school and adults in their community. Our students are less likely to report caring relationships with teachers/other adults at school and adults in their community than parents, other relatives and friends.