An Informative High-School Student Survey

In this article in Independent School, Amada Torres (National Association of Independent Schools) reports on her organization’s three-year pilot of the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), which is designed to measure three aspects of students’ life in school:

• Engagement of the mind – Cognitive, intellectual, and academic;
• Engagement in the life of the school – Social, behavioral, participatory;
• Engagement of the heart – Emotional.

Here is a sampling of questions with the stem, “How much has your experience at this school contributed to:

• Writing effectively
• Thinking critically
• Reading and understanding challenging material
• Learning independently
• Developing creative ideas and solutions
• Speaking effectively
• Using technology to gather and communicate information
• Acquiring skills for a job after completing high school
• Developing career goals
• Applying school-based knowledge to everyday life
• Understanding why what you learn in school will be important after high school.

To see a sample HSSSE survey, go to http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse/HSSSE_ForResearch.pdf; for general information, see http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse. 

“Assessing Student Engagement” by Amada Torres in Independent School, Spring 2014 (Vol. 73, #3, p. 16-18), www.nais.org 

From the Marshall Memo #526