Student Engagement SurveyResults and Analysis

June 2011

Overview

Engagement is the sense of connection that students have with their school and their studies. The school/learning environment affects the degree to which students are engaged with their education. Interest in classroom activities, perceived relevance of subject matter, feeling safe at school, having defined career and education goals, variety and availability of extracurricular activities, and relationships with adults at school all impact the level of students’ engagement.

This study was conducted to accomplish three goals:

1. Measure the level of engagement among students.2. Identify which groups of students are not engaged.3. Identify areas to help improve engagement.

With this information, we hope to improve conditions so that all students are fully engaged in the learning process. Students who are highly engaged in learning, along with an engaging teaching staff, are the students who are most likely to reach their full potential.

Study Design

All middle and high school students were invited to complete the engagement survey. The survey was completed online using the K12 Insight platform. The survey consisted of four parts:

Engagement Scale was comprised of eight items that were specifically designed to measure each teacher’s level of engagement. On the basis of responses to these items, an “Engagement Score” was computed for each respondent.

School items assessed 14 areas that are related to engagement. Each of the 14 areas were measured by two questions that were combined to yield a score for each area.

General Satisfaction

Respondent Background items included school site, grade level, and gender.

Technical NotesThis study was designed as a census survey. That is, all teachers were invited and encouraged to participate. The census approach is desirable because:

From an engagement/outreach perspective, it provides opportunities for all constituents to voice their views.

From a statistical perspective, it eliminates sampling error because everyone is included.

An alternative to a census study is a random sample study. The random sample involves inviting a fraction of the population to complete the survey. The random sample approach requires that:

Individuals are selected to participate in a manner that is not systematically related to the variable being studied (unbiased).

A sufficient number of individuals are invited and respond to the invitation to achieve a desired level of precision (margin of error).

The resulting sample should reflect (be representative of) the characteristics of the population from which it was drawn.

When a population is large, perceptions held by the population as a whole can be statistically estimated from a small fraction of individuals from that population. However, when the population is small, (i.e., <1,000), as much as one-half of the population must be sampled to gain a valid estimate of the views held by the overall group. In either case, individuals must be selected at random to ensure they accurately represent the larger population.

Who Responded to the Survey?

A high response rate is critical so that the survey provides an accurate assessment of engagement. The survey was open to students in grades 5, 8, and 11. However, grade 5 students account for 71% of the participants (157 out of 220 total survey participants). Because of the low response of the grade 8 and 11 students, the data summary is based only on the 5 th grade participants. The 157 grade 5 students represented 50% of all fifth grade students (315 total 5 th grade students).

Care must be taken while reviewing the data even for the 5th grade students. The 50% who did not participate may include a high proportion of non-engaged students compared to those who completed the survey. This leaves open the possibility that the survey results overestimate the level of engagement. However, the information provided by the engaged students will help to identify areas to improve engagement for all students.

Total 5th Grade Students

Responding 5th Grade Student

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

315

157

Count

Response Rate = 50%

Forest Ave School

John F. Kennedy School

South Bay School

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

69

74

50

65

52

32

Completed Surveys Total Students

Count

Who Responded to the Survey?

Participation rates varied across the elementary schools where 5th grade students participated on the survey.

Response = 94%

Response = 70%

Response = 64%

What is the Overall Level of Engagement?

The eight engagement scale items were rated on a five-point scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Average ratings are displayed. Because the more engaged students were likely to respond to the survey, these data likely overestimate engagement among students.

My teachers believe that I can do well in school.

I try to do my best in school every day.

I have good friends at school.

I am proud to go to this school.

I feel that my schoolwork is important.

I feel safe at school.

I am praised for doing good work at school.

I am interested in what I am learning in school.

1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0

4.73

4.66

4.65

4.55

4.40

4.34

4.24

3.99

Rating

What is the Overall Level of Engagement?

Ratings on the eight items comprising the engagement scale were averaged to provide an engagement score for each respondent. The median engagement score was 4.5 (average was 4.4) and ranged from 2.75 to 5.0. Scores were classified according to three levels: Not Engaged (less than 3.5), Engaged (3.5 to 4.5), and Highly Engaged (4.5 to 5.0). Most respondents were identified as Engaged (45%) or Highly Engaged (54%). 1% (n=2) of respondents were identified as Not Engaged.

Engagement Score Descriptions

Median 4.5

Minimum 2.75

Maximum 5.0

Not Engaged

Engaged

Highly Engaged

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

1%

45%

54%

Percent

Which Groups of Students are Engaged?

Percent of students registering as “highly engaged” by school is summarized below. The proportion of students who are highly engaged varied between 40% and 67% of the responding students.

Forest Avenue School

John F. Kennedy School

South Bay School

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

40%

67%

59%

Highly Engaged

Which Groups of Students are Engaged?

Overall, the fifth grade females (63%) tended to be more highly engaged than their male peers (44%).

Male

Female

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

44%

63%

Highly Engaged

Are the Engaged Students More Satisfied?

Highly engaged students were most likely to be “very satisfied” while the engaged students tended to be “satisfied” with their school experience. Although most not engaged students were satisfied with their school experiences, as many as 10% were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied.

Engaged Highly Engaged0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

3% 0%7%

1%

54%

18%

37%

81%

Very DissatisfiedDissatisfiedSatisfiedVery Satisfied

Where Should Efforts be Focused to Improve Student Engagement?

Fourteen aspects of the school environment were examined to find areas of focus to help improve engagement among students. Each area was rated on a five-point scale, with higher values indicating greater satisfaction with that area.

The relationship between each student’s ratings and their overall engagement score was also examined. To do this, correlation coefficients were computed between the engagement scores and each school item. A correlation coefficient is a measure of how strongly two items are related to each other. The value can range from -1.0 to 0 to +1.0. The closer to ±1.0, the stronger the relationship.

Based on the combination of ratings and correlation with engagement, the areas were classified as high vs. low in ratings and high vs. low in relation to engagement (see table below). Those areas that were rated low, but had a strong correlation with engagement (red) should receive primary focus. The secondary areas are those that had high ratings and a strong correlation with engagement (yellow).

Relation to Engagement High Low

Rating Low  PRIMARY FOCUS  High  SECONDARY FOCUS  

Where Should Efforts be Focused to Improve Student Engagement?

Relation to Engagement

High Low

Rating

Low

 PRIMARY FOCUSThese areas are highly related to Engagement, but were rated

low. These items offer best

opportunity for improving engagement.

 Improvement in these areas may help with the overall

work environment, but would have little impact on

engagement.

High

 SECONDARY FOCUSThese areas are highly related to Engagement, and were rated

favorably. Emphasis on these items may

help improve engagement among some teachers.

District is performing well in these areas.

Where Should Efforts be Focused to Improve Student Engagement?

Relation to Engagement High Low

RatingLow  PRIMARY FOCUS  High  SECONDARY FOCUS  

RatingRelation to

EngagementI am interested in my classes. 3.79 0.63I feel like I belong at school. 4.27 0.58The rules at school are fair. 4.06 0.50I have friends at school. 4.19 0.49I look forward to going to school each day. 4.01 0.49I am safe at school 4.29 0.57I participate in classroom activities. 4.35 0.57My classes are relevant to the real world. 4.52 0.55I am interested in the extracurricular activities offered at school. 4.18 0.45I am challenged at school. 4.16 0.41My teachers give me the support and attention that I need. 4.42 0.49The staff at school know me and care about me. 4.34 0.48My family supports me in school. 4.87 0.44I need an education to get a good job or go to college. 4.72 0.41

SummaryThe major findings from this engagement study revealed:

The survey was open to fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade students. Low responses at the eighth and eleventh grades precluded analyses of those groups. Approximately 50% of the fifth grade students completed the survey.

The participating students were mostly engaged or highly engaged with a median score of 4.5 on a 5.0 scale.

o 54% were identified as “highly engaged”

o 45% as “engaged”

o 1% as “not engaged”

Engagement varied considerable across the elementary schools, with 40% to 67% of the fifth grade students registering as “highly engaged.” In addition, female students tended to be more highly engaged than males students (63% vs. 44%).

Highly engaged students tended to be most satisfied with experiences at school.

Aspects of the school environment that were most strongly related to engagement included interest in classes, sense of belonging at school, perceived fairness of the rules, and looking forward to going to school each day.