Educational Engagement

Geographic Area:

All Counties (customize)

See this topic by Grade, Race, and Gender

Grade

Gender

Percent of Total All Grades Students Reporting Higher Levels of Educational Engagement, 2019: by County

PercentCompare to State Average: 71.4%
Minnesota71.4%Barchart image
Aitkin County72.0%Barchart image
Anoka County70.6%Barchart image
Becker County68.1%Barchart image
Beltrami County62.9%Barchart image
Benton County71.6%Barchart image
Big Stone County65.2%Barchart image
Blue Earth County74.3%Barchart image
Brown County68.0%Barchart image
Carlton County69.1%Barchart image
Carver County73.4%Barchart image
Cass County59.8%Barchart image
Chippewa County68.1%Barchart image
Chisago County66.0%Barchart image
Clay County70.7%Barchart image
Clearwater County*
Cook County55.2%Barchart image
Cottonwood County66.8%Barchart image
Crow Wing County71.2%Barchart image
Dakota County71.5%Barchart image
Dodge County73.8%Barchart image
Douglas County74.1%Barchart image
Faribault County69.7%Barchart image
Fillmore County69.6%Barchart image
Freeborn County73.5%Barchart image
Goodhue County68.8%Barchart image
Grant County70.5%Barchart image
Hennepin County74.9%Barchart image
Houston County72.1%Barchart image
Hubbard County65.4%Barchart image
Isanti County62.7%Barchart image
Itasca County65.4%Barchart image
Jackson County63.0%Barchart image
Kanabec County66.8%Barchart image
Kandiyohi County70.3%Barchart image
Kittson County69.2%Barchart image
Koochiching County72.7%Barchart image
Lac Qui Parle County70.1%Barchart image
Lake County73.6%Barchart image
Lake of the Woods County69.0%Barchart image
Le Sueur County68.3%Barchart image
Lincoln County70.4%Barchart image
Lyon County74.5%Barchart image
McLeod County81.7%Barchart image
Mahnomen County59.3%Barchart image
Marshall County67.0%Barchart image
Martin County69.3%Barchart image
Meeker County67.6%Barchart image
Mille Lacs County69.2%Barchart image
Morrison County69.2%Barchart image
Mower County69.6%Barchart image
Murray County73.2%Barchart image
Nicollet County71.8%Barchart image
Nobles County75.0%Barchart image
Norman County64.7%Barchart image
Olmsted County72.3%Barchart image
Otter Tail County73.2%Barchart image
Pennington County66.5%Barchart image
Pine County66.5%Barchart image
Pipestone County77.3%Barchart image
Polk County71.7%Barchart image
Pope County69.4%Barchart image
Ramsey County72.7%Barchart image
Red Lake County71.7%Barchart image
Redwood County69.4%Barchart image
Renville County74.8%Barchart image
Rice County73.5%Barchart image
Rock County69.5%Barchart image
Roseau County68.5%Barchart image
St. Louis County68.0%Barchart image
Scott County71.1%Barchart image
Sherburne County67.3%Barchart image
Sibley County65.5%Barchart image
Stearns County72.3%Barchart image
Steele County71.6%Barchart image
Stevens County64.4%Barchart image
Swift County*
Todd County66.3%Barchart image
Traverse County53.1%Barchart image
Wabasha County71.5%Barchart image
Wadena County68.7%Barchart image
Waseca County64.9%Barchart image
Washington County71.8%Barchart image
Watonwan County71.0%Barchart image
Wilkin County67.0%Barchart image
Winona County74.1%Barchart image
Wright County71.9%Barchart image
Yellow Medicine County74.6%Barchart image

About the Indicator:

For the first time in 2013, the Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) included modified items from Child Trends Flourishing Children Project. Educational engagement comprises the following MSS questions:

  • How often do you care about doing well in school?

  • How often do you pay attention in class?

  • How often do you go to class unprepared?

  • If something interests me, I try to learn more about it.

  • I think the things I learn at school are useful.

  • Being a student is one of the most important parts of who I am.

Response options for each of the last three items above are: strongly agree (coded as 4), agree (coded as 3), disagree (coded as 2), and strongly disagree (coded as 1). Response options for the first three questions were: all of the time, most of the time, some of the time, and none of the time--these were coded as 1 through 4, with the most positive response scoring 4 and the least positive response scoring 1. An educational engagement score can be created by summing the values for each question, obtaining a range from 6 to 24. Higher levels of educational engagement are measured as students reporting an overall score of 18 or higher; this corresponds to an average score of 3 or higher per question.

In 2019, compared to 8th, 9th, and 11th graders who reported lower levels of educational engagement, more engaged students were 2.4 times less likely to report past-month alcohol use; 2.4 times less likely to report tobacco use; 3.2 less likely to report past-month marijuana use; and 3.0 times less likely to report past-month prescription drug misuse.

For more, see the Educational Engagement and Substance Use 2018 SUMN Fact Sheet.

Data Source: Minnesota Student Survey (MSS)

Description: The MSS is a confidential and anonymous self-administered survey given to students attending Minnesota public, charter and tribal schools. From 1995 to 2010, the survey was administered to students in 6th, 9th, and 12th grades. New in 2013, the survey was administered to students in 5th, 8th, 9th, and 11th grades. Trend data are now only available for 9th graders, and only for survey questions that did not change. Most schools elect to participate in the survey; in 2013, this included 84% of public schools in Minnesota.

Although the data are not presented here, the survey is also administered to area learning centers, juvenile correction facilities and private schools electing to participate.

Sponsored by: Minnesota Department of Education

Geographic Level: State, Region, and County

Aggregated data at the state and county level do not reveal disparities that may exist within a given geographic area.

Frequency: Data collected and reported every three years

Characteristics: The results of the MSS are also available at a county level. Data Privacy requirements mandate that data is presented in a manner such that no individual student can be identified through the presentation of the results. As part of the Data Privacy practices, the results are also presented in a manner that no individual school district could be identified through the results. Therefore, for counties that have only one school district, the results are not presented. Results are also withheld for counties in which the minimum number for student participation was not met.

The MSS is a “census” of schools, not a sample. The school districts get their own data. Fifth-graders were not asked all substance use questions. Some school districts do not participate, and student participation within the school district can vary widely. These data are self-reported.