FAQ

Simply go to Registration and complete the requested information.

If you are participating in both HSSSE and MGSSE, you will need to complete both registrations since schools may have different contact information for the respective grade levels.

Once you have completed the registration form online, you will receive a confirmation email with information on what to expect for the survey administration(s) and suggestions on how to prepare. If you have questions, or want further information before deciding whether or not to register, please feel free to call the Project Team at (812) 855-4438 or email HSSSE@indiana.edu. (Note: Same e-mail address for both HSSSE and MGSSE.)

HSSSE and MGSSE contain parallel survey items, with HSSSE targeting students in high school grade levels (i.e., generally grades 9 through 12) and MGSSE targeting students in middle school grade levels (i.e., generally grades 5 or 6 through 8). However, there is some flexibility in choosing which survey to use depending on your specific context, particularly for schools serving students across both middle and high school grade levels.

We would be happy to discuss the options with you via e-mail or phone.

Surveying all students within the relevant grade levels is typically the simplest and most straightforward method for gathering data about student engagement; this is also the most comprehensive method, and provides the most reliable and representative data without the problems inherent in sampling students (see below).

However, for a variety of reasons schools sometimes choose one of the following methods:

Regardless of the method, schools should focus on getting high response rates in order to avoid selection bias. Nonrespondents tend to differ from respondents, so their absence in the final sample makes it difficult to generalize the results to the overall target population. For example, students who are absent frequently (and therefore likely to not respond to surveys administered at school because they are absent when the survey is administered) would likely respond very differently than their peers to a survey of student engagement.

Therefore, it is important to maximize the percentage of targeted students who complete the survey through methods such as providing repeated opportunities for survey completion, specifically focusing on increasing survey completion for traditionally hard-to-reach populations, and using multiple communication methods to help students understand the importance and value of completing the survey.

The comprehensive (standard) reports with survey results, and accompanying raw data files, are typically sent out in August to September. Although some schools may complete the survey in late winter or early spring, the analyses and comprehensive reports include comparative data that require CEPR to wait until all participating NAIS schools have completed the surveys. Therefore all comprehensive (standard) reports are completed and delivered around the same time in late summer. Longitudinal results or custom reports may take 2-4 weeks longer.

Student engagement is increasingly viewed as one of the keys to addressing problems such as low student achievement, student boredom and alienation, and high drop-out rates (Fredricks, Blumenfled and Paris, 2004). Engaged students are more likely to perform well on standardized tests, are less likely to drop out of school, and conditions that lead to student engagement (and reduce student apathy) contribute to a safe, positive, and creative school climate and culture.

Research indicates that student engagement declines as students progress from upper elementary grades to middle school, reaching its lowest levels in high school. Some studies estimate that by high school, as many as 40-60 percent of youth are disengaged (Marks, 2000). Given the serious consequences of disengagement, more and more educators and school administrators are interested in obtaining data on student engagement and disengagement for needs assessment, diagnosis, and prevention. Schools have the power to create the conditions under which students can achieve highly, become motivated for learning, and stay connected and engaged academically, socially and emotionally (ASCD, 2009). Read more.

The Center for Evaluation, Policy, & Research (CEPR) is a client-focused, self-funded research center associated with the Vice Provost for Research at Indiana University.

• CEPR promotes and supports rigorous program evaluation and nonpartisan policy research primarily, but not exclusively, for education, health/human service and non-profit organizations.
• CEPR conducts international, national, state, and local level evaluation and research projects related to diverse content areas including student engagement, STEM education, literacy programs, school improvement initiatives, school choice, etc.

Visit About Us for more information about our mission and services.

Project staff review all text entry survey responses and report responses in compliance with applicable policies and regulations.