Gallup Student Poll: 1 in 4 children are hopeful, engaged and thriving

The first ever Gallup Student Poll offers fascinating findings certain to give parents and educators food for thought. And maybe the results will prompt some thoughtful conversations around the dinner table.

The poll, described as giving students a much-needed voice in America’s discussion about high school dropout prevention and college readiness, included slightly more than 70,000 students in grades five through 12 in 59 school districts in 18 states and the District of Columbia. The poll will be conducted twice a year for 10 years. The first poll was completed in March.

Here are the key findings:

The poll, which was released this week, focused on these three areas because research has shown that hope, engagement, and well-being are indicators of success, with links to grades, achievement scores, school retention and employment, said Shane J. Lopez, Gallup’s senior scientist in residence and the author of the report. And, he added, they are traits children can development if given proper encouragement and support.

America’s Promise Alliance and the American Association of School Administrators, which cooperated with Gallup in conducting the poll, hope schools, parents and others will use the results to better meet the needs of students and lower the high school dropout rate.

“This poll gives insights into the daily experiences, challenges and aspirations of our young people, so that we can better identify ways to meet their needs and help them be successful,” said Alma Powell, chairperson of America’s Promise Alliance.

Here are more details from the poll:

The vast majority of students (95%) agree or strongly agree with the statement: “I know I will graduate from high school.” Lopez wrote that the belief that a student will graduate from high school is closely linked with student responses to the following items: “There is an adult in my life who cares about my future” and “I can find lots of ways around any problem.”

“Research shows that the more support young people have, both inside and outside of the classroom, the more likely they are to stay in school and succeed in life,” said Marguerite Kondracke, president and CEO of America’s Promise Alliance.

The study points that while 95 percent of the students said they expect to graduate, fewer than 75 percent will actually earn a diploma.

Engagement in school is highest in elementary school and decreases through middle school and the 10th grade. It plateaus during the remainder of high school, seemingly after most of the actively disengaged drop out.

“This downward trend suggests that we may be losing the hearts and minds of some students in middle school, with involvement in and enthusiasm for school declining from 5th through 10th grade,” Lopez wrote in the report. “Student responses to ‘My teachers make me feel my school work is important’ account for some of the engagement decline across the grade levels, suggesting that students see school as less important and relevant as they advance through grades.”

Lopez said the drop off in student engagement in middle school and the beginning of high school underscores the need for parents to work with their children during these important transitions.

“We want parents to start those small conversations,” he said. “Talk about goals, talk about needs, ask how you can help.”

Well being varies little across grade levels, but students were more likely to feel a sense of well being if they had positive daily experiences, including being “treated with respect yesterday,” “smiled or laughed a lot yesterday,” “learned or did something interesting yesterday,” or “had enough energy to get things done yesterday.”

Interesting tidbits: Eight in 10 students indicated they had smiled or laughed a lot yesterday. About seven in 10 said they had learned or did something interesting in school yesterday. Slightly more than half said they were treated with respect all day.

Students were asked to respond to this classic well-being query: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from 0 at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you, and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”

The average response was 7.32.

When asked: “On which step do you think you will stand about five years from now?” students’ average response was 8.42.

To learn more: To read Gallup’s report, go to gallupstudentpoll.com. (The report is well worth reading. The final page has a list of questions students were asked. They make great fodder for dinner and classroom conversations.)