21k12

I have written often here about the importance of measuring what matters, and treating the data seriously; I have also written here about the value of the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), which has been called an idea to save the world in the Atlantic Monthly.   At my behest as the incoming head,  St. Gregory administered the HSSSE for the first time last spring, and we now have these results to share with readers.

Inside the powerpoint are a series of 20 graphs, representing our results in about 50 different criteria, with, in every case, our average compared to the average of the respondents nationally who participated.  The national respondent base represents over 100 diverse schools, private and public, urban, suburban and rural.   (we believe there is a slight self-selection bias, that schools more committed than average to promoting student engagement are more likely to participate in the survey!).    For each set of questions, two graphs are provided: the first compares averages for the one “top” option (among four), the “Often” or “Agree strongly” option.    The second compares the averages for the top two options (among four): the often and sometimes, or the agree strongly and agree simply.

I also am providing (after the jump)a table of the categories of greatest difference; those where our students reported much stronger engagement than their national peers (there were NO categories where St. Gregory students reported lesser engagement).

Meanwhile, we are also analyzing the results to identify areas which we as a faculty wish to target for improvement in the years to come, a list I will provide at some time in the future.

	St. Gregory	National Avg.	Difference
Written paper more than five pages: Often	51	17	34
Written paper more than five pages: Often and Sometimes	94	51	43
I place a high value on learning: Strong agreement	63	35	28
I am motivated by teacher encouragement: Strong agreement	45	19	26
I see how my school work will apply after school: strong agreement	46	24	22
In general, I am excited about my classes: strong and simple agreement	79	56	23
School emphasizes analyzing ideas in depth: very much	61	28	33
School emphasizes exploring new ideas: very much	54	27	27
School contributed to growth of writing effectively: Very much	67	35	32
I spend more than 6 hours a week on school activities: Agreement	48	31	17
I feel safe at school: Strong Agreement	65	20	45
I feel safe at school: strong and simple agreement	96	79	17
Adults at this school want me to succeed: Strong agreement	57	26	31
Teachers try to engage me in classroom discussions: strong agreement	47	17	30
I am academically challenged by my classwork: strong agreement	50	20	30
I have opportunities to be creative in the classroom: strong agreement	43	17	26