Student Engagement & School Perceptions Survey
Introduction
Goal 3 of Mequon-Thiensville School District’s strategic plan focuses on fostering collaboration and developing relationships to enhance the safety, connectedness, and well-being of our students. Students that are engaged and feel safe at school are more likely to achieve at a high level academically thereby increasing the likelihood of post-secondary success. One method to measure student engagement is through student surveys. MTSD contracts with School Perceptions LLC to facilitate an annual survey for all students in Grades 4-12 to assess school climate and student engagement. The goal of the survey is to identify how MTSD staff can support each student to ensure lifelong success. Survey questions are asked across seven indicators including Connectedness, Drive, Citizenship/Leadership, Preparation, Social & Emotional Aptitude, Wellness, and Academics & Career Planning. The data from this survey is used to inform Milestone 7, which reflects the percentage of students who participated in the survey whose average level of engagement across all survey questions was greater than or equal to 3.0 on a 4.0 scale as measured on an annual student engagement survey. The goal has been to maintain a score of 3.0 or above, as it is unlikely or unrealistic that an individual would consistently rate at a 4.0. School Perceptions LLC does provide a comparison score based on similar districts who have students engaging with the same survey.
Process & Methodology
Students in grades 4-12 completed the online School Perceptions Survey between February 21-25, 2022. Overall 2,167 students participated in the survey.
All students responded to survey items across seven indicators. The survey contains 25 items for students in fourth and fifth grade. Students in grades 6-12 respond to an additional five items related to Academic and Career Planning for a total of 30 items. Table 1 provides information on the seven indicators, the number of items related to each indicator, and the grade levels that answer questions for each indicator.
For each item on the survey, response choices included: 4 = Always, 3 = Usually, 2 = Sometimes, 1= Never. Additional information about the survey and survey items are available here.