Challenge Day

Student Pre/Post Survey Results 2009-10

As part of Challenge Denver’s efforts to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Challenge Day program, we have partnered with the Center for Educational Policy Analysis, School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver to create a complete evaluation plan.  

Students were asked a series of questions in pre/post surveys about perceptions of their relationships with other students and teachers at school, as well as their behavior around bullying and their support systems.  The Pre and Post test results were evaluated to determine Challenge Day’s effects on students’ perceptions and behaviors.

Statistically significant impacts were found in the following areas:

Bullying at School- After participating in Challenge Day, students were significantly more likely to:

• Ask for help from an adult at school when someone is getting bullied or teased
• Speak up when someone is being bullied
• Not feel afraid of others at school
• Not skip school due to fear of being mistreated by teachers
• Be more aware of the affects of teasing and bullying  

Relationships at School- After participating in Challenge Day, students perceptions significantly increased in the following areas:

• Feeling like they fit in at school
• Understanding that other students have the same problems and fears they do
• Empathy and tolerance for others
• Willingness and desire to make their school a place where people treat each other with respect and acceptance
• Believing they can make their lives whatever they want it to be
• Believing they are a leader in their school
  
  

Methodology- The students were asked to respond to a series of statements at school using a 5-point scale where 1 indicates “strongly disagree” and 5 indicates “strongly agree”.  A total of 888 students were surveyed.  A difference of .10 is considered a significant change.