Kidsdata Advisory, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health

Highlighting new and noteworthy data from kidsdata.org
The Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health | May 11, 2010

How Connected Are California Students to Their School?
Find Data for School Districts Statewide

Are California youth getting the support they need for their positive development? Do they feel they have opportunities for meaningful participation at school? And do they say that there are adults at school who care about them and have high expectations of them?

This week, kidsdata.org adds 10 indicators -- all of which are available for school districts statewide -- that help answer these and other critical questions associated with youth development by measuring how connected students are to their school. The data from these indicators come from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), a statewide survey of students that was developed and is administered by WestEd for the California Department of Education.

View Data for Your School District on Students' Connectedness to School

Caring Adults at School: By Grade and Gender | By Race/Ethnicity

High Expectations from Teachers: By Grade and Gender | By Race/Ethnicity

Opportunities for Meaningful School Participation: By Grade and Gender | By Race/Ethnicity

Overall Connectedness to School: By Grade and Gender | By Race/Ethnicity

Total School Assets: By Grade and Gender | By Race/Ethnicity

Selected Facts about Connectedness to School

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Highlights from the School Connectedness Data

Less than half of 7th, 9th, and 11th-grade students in California report high levels of connection to their school. This summary measure includes student reports of being treated fairly, feeling close to people, feeling happy, feeling a part of school, and feeling safe at school.

Students’ connectedness to school varies by race/ethnicity. Caucasian/White and Asian American students consistently are most likely to report high levels of connectedness, while African American/Black students are least likely to report such high levels.

About one half of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade students in California in 2006-08 reported high expectations from teachers and others at school. Across all racial/ethnic groups, students were more likely to say in 2006-08 that teachers had high expectations of them than in 2003-05.

About 15% of 7th, 9th, and 11th-grade students in California report high levels of meaningful participation in school. This is a summary measure of student reports of whether at school they do interesting activities, help make decisions, and "do things that make a difference." A higher percentage of students – roughly one-third – report low levels of meaningful participation in school.

Use These Data in Your Work

Kidsdata.org is a public service that expanded in fall 2009 from the Bay Area to all cities, counties, and school districts in California. You can use these data, as well as related measures of emotional and behavioral health, in reports, presentations, proposals, advocacy work, program planning, and other efforts. Data on more topics will be phased in over the next several weeks.

Help Spread the Word

Kidsdata.org is a free, public service, and we hope it will benefit everyone working on behalf of children and youth in California. To help others learn about this valuable resource, you can:

Forward this note to your colleagues and friends.
Help raise the profile of children in your community by adding a link and facts from kidsdata.org to your organization's website or newsletter. You even can link directly to data for your community.

Also Available from Kidsdata.org

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Kidsdata.org is a free, public service sponsored by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, which is dedicated to raising the visibility of children’s issues in California.