About the Minnesota Student Survey
The Minnesota Student Survey provides students, parents, and their communities a dynamic vehicle for on-going communication about issues vital to the health, safety and academic success of youth. It is a valuable too for school districts, county agencies and state agencies in planning meaningful and effective ways of supporting students and families.
The survey asks students questions about their activities, opinions, behaviors and experiences. It includes questions on an array of issues – substance abuse (tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs), school climate, violence and safety concerns, healthy eating, out –of-school activities, connections with school and family, and many other topics. At the senior high level, questions are also asked about gambling and sexual activity.
Goals of the Survey
Survey Participation
The 2013 Minnesota Student Survey was administered in the first half of 2013 to public school students in Grades 5, 8, 9, and 11 statewide. All public school districts in Minnesota were invited to participate. Of the 334 public operating districts, 280 agreed to participate (84% of public operating school districts).
Public school student participation was voluntary and surveys were anonymous. Across the state, approximately 66% of fifth graders, 71% of eighth graders, 69% of ninth graders, and 62% of eleventh graders participated in the 2013 Minnesota Student Survey. Overall participation across the four grades was approximately 67% of total enrollment.
All schools and districts that participated in the survey followed federal laws regarding parental notification as required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment (PPRA). PPRA requires that schools that participate in the survey notify parents of the survey administration, provide parents the opportunity to review the survey instrument, and allow parents to opt their child out of participating.
Mode of Administration
In 2013, for the first time, schools could choose to administer the survey by computer or by using the traditional paper and pencil survey. Each participating school had to choose one method or the other. Overall, 35% of students took the survey by computer and 65% used the paper survey. The survey questions that students saw on their computer screens were the same as those in the paper survey booklets.
Researchers find that the mode of administration (in this case, computer or paper) may sometimes influence survey results in subtle ways. Students may feel that one method offers more privacy or anonymity than the other, or they may simply feel more comfortable with one method. The Minnesota Student Survey research team will be analyzing the results of the 2013 survey to see if they can detect any influence of the mode of administration on survey results.
New Questions and Year-to-Year Comparisons
In 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010 the survey was given to Mankato 6, 9, and 12th grade students. Since the grade levels and many questions have changed since 2010, no comparisons have been made here with 2013 results.
Many of the 2013 survey instrument questions were changed from the 2010 survey instrument. While some questions stayed the same, other questions had updated or improved wording. Some entirely new questions were added and some questions were dropped. New questions are noted on each table. Caution must be used when making comparisons over time for any questions in which the wording has changed.
Please note that although these surveys are given repeatedly over time, student populations may change between administrations of the survey.
Validity of Responses and the Survey
Approximately 2% of the surveys were eliminated from analyses because gender was missing, responses were highly inconsistent, or there was a pattern of likely exaggeration.
One question sometimes raised about student surveys is whether students’ responses are honest and accurate. Research on the validity of self-report data has found students are generally truthful when assured the information they provide will remain confidential. Because the Minnesota Student Survey is completed anonymously, motivation to conceal sensitive information or distort responses is minimized.
Researchers used a variety of data analysis techniques to examine survey responses in an effort to ensure a reasonably accurate portrait of adolescents’ perceptions and behaviors. This examination of response patterns for inconsistencies or highly implausible answers resulted in the elimination of about 3% of surveys from further analyses. This means that the vast majority of students provided answers that were consistent and reasonable.
Other evidence attests to the general accuracy of the information provided. Increases or decreases seen in Minnesota with respect to many behaviors typically parallel trends observed in other state and national surveys. For some questions, such as measures of self-esteem, answers have remained virtually unchanged over time. Gender and age differences in survey responses are consistent with observations of adolescent behavior. Finally, the relationships between risk or protective factors and student behaviors and feelings are remarkably consistent among clinical research studies and adolescent surveys. (Minnesota Student Survey, 2001, 2004, 2007)