Every three years, the Minnesota Department of Education surveys public school students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades to learn about “trends” in youth activities and perceptions. There are several “carryover” questions in the survey from one year to the next. About 80% of school districts administer the survey.

Our district has participated in the Minnesota Student Survey (or MSS) for many years, and we recently received results from the survey that was given to MPS students last year (2019).

The survey results are 71 pages long) just for our district), so there is a great deal of data to review and pull themes, ideas, and areas for continued growth and emphasis from, as you might imagine. What we often do with this type of information/data as we dive into it is look for areas showing our students “outperforming” their peers statewide.

Even though there is a significant amount of data and information in the survey results, here are some of the results for MPS students that may be perceived as positive, especially when compared to the state averages.

• Over 91% of 5th-, 8th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students agree or strongly agree that they feel safe at school, and over 95% of the students feel safe in their neighborhood.

• Slightly over 90% of students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades often or always are sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.

• Over 71% of 9th- and 11th-grade students indicated that an adult has helped them think about education options after high school.

• Almost 92% of our 8th-, 9th-, and 11th-grade students said they had not had any type of alcoholic beverage in the past month.

• Nearly 87% of 11th-grade students reported that they care about doing well in school most or all of the time.

• An average of 82% of 9th- and 11th-grade students think things they learn at school are useful.

Of course, we also look at the data to see what areas we can influence as we seek growth and improvement opportunities. The information below are some of the survey results for MPS students that may be perceived as concerning, although the percentages are often similar to or better than state averages.

• Only 46% of 9th-graders and 85% of 11th-grade students indicated that an adult has helped them find career-focused field experiences. With many career opportunities in the world today — especially in Marshall and southwest Minnesota — this needs to be a continued focus area for us.

• Almost 9% of students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grade do not feel safe at school. In order to learn best,students NEED to feel safe at school, so this is an area that we will continue to work on.

• 16% of 11th-grade students and 10% of 9th grade students indicated that they had used tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, in the past month. As the e-cigarette epidemic continues, our efforts need to increase to ensure that students, parents, and community members are informed about how unhealthy e-cigarette use is.

Survey data such as the Minnesota Student Survey has a great deal of value for school districts, including MPS. We will continue to review and dissect this data in our continuous improvement efforts. Thank you for taking time to read this and for the support shown for the Marshall Public School District. I can be reached at scott.monson@marshall.k12.mn.us or at 507-537-6924. Go Tigers!