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Activity Participation

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Percent of Students Reporting That They Participate in 1-5 Activities Outside of School, All Available Years: by Grade, Gender, and County

2019
FemaleMaleTotal
Minnesota5th76.3%72.7%74.5%
8th80.4%74.9%77.7%
9th78.6%72.5%75.6%
11th74.0%69.5%71.8%
All Grades77.6%72.6%75.1%
Aitkin County5th85.2%66.1%75.8%
8th85.4%73.9%79.3%
9th72.5%61.1%67.1%
11th57.7%58.6%58.2%
All Grades78.0%65.9%71.9%
Anoka County5th72.0%68.9%70.4%
8th77.4%71.8%74.7%
9th75.3%70.8%73.2%
11th72.7%66.6%69.8%
All Grades74.6%69.9%72.3%
Becker County5th78.2%69.6%73.7%
8th82.3%73.0%78.1%
9th80.8%66.2%73.6%
11th77.7%67.0%72.2%
All Grades80.1%68.8%74.6%
Beltrami County5th64.8%57.9%61.2%
8th69.2%63.1%66.3%
9th74.5%57.9%66.6%
11th71.8%53.3%63.1%
All Grades70.0%58.5%64.3%
Benton County5th78.4%70.1%74.1%
8th83.1%76.1%80.0%
9th82.9%74.4%78.6%
11th67.1%57.1%62.2%
All Grades78.6%70.2%74.4%
Big Stone County5th***
8th***
9th***
11th***
All Grades**77.8%
Blue Earth County5th73.3%72.3%72.8%
8th78.6%76.0%77.3%
9th76.8%70.3%73.3%
11th70.0%68.4%69.2%
All Grades74.9%71.9%73.4%
Brown County5th83.9%73.3%78.9%
8th81.8%77.9%79.6%
9th83.7%82.9%83.3%
11th64.1%69.3%66.7%
All Grades78.6%76.1%77.3%
Carlton County5th78.6%79.9%79.2%
8th85.2%78.8%81.4%
9th82.4%75.3%78.8%
11th74.3%81.2%78.0%
All Grades80.1%78.7%79.4%
Carver County5th74.4%72.8%73.6%
8th87.7%83.7%85.6%
9th80.1%75.4%77.9%
11th78.3%74.8%76.7%
All Grades80.7%77.5%79.2%
Cass County5th61.5%59.4%60.5%
8th70.8%63.4%67.1%
9th73.4%62.3%67.7%
11th75.0%62.3%68.6%
All Grades69.8%61.9%65.8%
Chippewa County5th78.1%67.2%73.0%
8th83.1%69.7%75.6%
9th75.3%82.2%78.8%
11th75.6%72.1%73.9%
All Grades78.0%73.2%75.6%
Chisago County5th68.9%68.0%68.5%
8th74.6%65.3%70.0%
9th73.6%67.5%70.8%
11th75.3%57.7%65.5%
All Grades73.7%63.9%68.9%
Clay County5th70.1%62.5%66.2%
8th78.2%76.9%77.5%
9th80.9%70.6%76.2%
11th70.2%72.7%71.3%
All Grades74.8%70.3%72.6%
Clearwater County5th***
8th***
9th***
11th***
All Grades***
Cook County5th**73.9%
8th**78.9%
9th**81.5%
11th**70.0%
All Grades82.8%70.0%76.3%
Cottonwood County5th81.3%77.0%79.0%
8th89.3%86.3%87.7%
9th83.9%79.8%81.5%
11th77.9%65.0%70.9%
All Grades83.3%77.0%79.9%
Crow Wing County5th77.3%65.2%70.7%
8th88.1%80.0%83.9%
9th78.4%69.4%73.8%
11th73.2%69.7%71.5%
All Grades77.4%70.0%73.6%
Dakota County5th76.8%75.4%76.1%
8th81.2%77.3%79.2%
9th80.9%75.3%78.1%
11th74.5%73.4%73.9%
All Grades78.7%75.4%77.0%
Dodge County5th78.1%71.9%75.2%
8th88.4%74.4%81.5%
9th89.7%75.5%82.4%
11th68.7%66.4%67.5%
All Grades81.0%71.9%76.5%
Douglas County5th76.6%72.8%74.6%
8th92.8%80.2%86.5%
9th81.9%79.1%80.6%
11th78.4%69.8%73.5%
All Grades82.8%75.8%79.3%
Faribault County5th77.3%67.3%72.0%
8th95.5%73.9%82.3%
9th87.9%56.3%73.6%
11th69.6%66.7%68.0%
All Grades82.8%66.8%74.3%
Fillmore County5th93.9%88.6%91.2%
8th89.2%71.0%80.9%
9th***
11th**70.6%
All Grades88.7%76.6%82.4%
Freeborn County5th83.3%70.5%76.6%
8th72.2%70.3%71.2%
9th72.3%62.4%67.4%
11th79.3%65.8%72.8%
All Grades76.3%67.3%71.7%
Goodhue County5th74.5%66.7%70.7%
8th82.5%74.0%78.4%
9th**77.3%
11th73.3%67.7%70.7%
All Grades78.4%68.9%73.8%
Grant County5th76.2%81.3%78.4%
8th70.4%80.6%76.2%
9th80.0%93.8%87.1%
11th71.1%78.6%74.2%
All Grades74.5%83.6%78.9%
Hennepin County5th80.6%79.6%80.1%
8th80.0%77.2%78.6%
9th79.1%73.3%76.3%
11th77.5%73.7%75.7%
All Grades79.3%76.0%77.7%
Houston County5th71.0%76.1%73.6%
8th81.1%79.7%80.5%
9th77.8%80.9%79.2%
11th77.6%74.7%76.3%
All Grades77.4%77.9%77.6%
Hubbard County5th85.1%62.0%74.1%
8th83.0%63.6%74.7%
9th75.0%60.9%68.5%
11th69.5%74.5%71.7%
All Grades79.0%64.4%72.3%
Isanti County5th65.1%61.9%63.5%
8th78.0%65.6%71.7%
9th72.5%65.4%69.1%
11th62.6%58.1%60.6%
All Grades69.7%63.1%66.5%
Itasca County5th71.3%76.8%74.1%
8th79.7%79.6%79.7%
9th77.2%75.0%76.2%
11th72.8%68.1%70.3%
All Grades75.7%75.4%75.5%
Jackson County5th85.3%80.0%83.1%
8th76.7%70.0%74.0%
9th76.9%65.6%69.9%
11th**52.6%
All Grades76.1%63.6%69.1%
Kanabec County5th79.3%80.0%79.6%
8th76.0%72.1%73.9%
9th73.8%77.9%75.9%
11th75.5%68.1%72.0%
All Grades76.1%74.7%75.4%
Kandiyohi County5th76.4%55.9%66.7%
8th77.4%65.8%71.1%
9th80.4%75.3%77.7%
11th70.5%71.3%70.9%
All Grades76.4%67.3%71.8%
Kittson County5th***
8th**79.3%
9th**100.0%
11th**88.0%
All Grades88.2%86.8%87.6%
Koochiching County5th66.7%86.7%76.7%
8th**79.2%
9th64.3%71.4%67.9%
11th**52.0%
All Grades69.1%73.7%71.4%
Lac Qui Parle County5th67.5%53.8%60.8%
8th84.1%79.5%81.9%
9th92.3%81.8%85.7%
11th70.7%62.5%67.1%
All Grades77.5%70.1%73.8%
Lake County5th59.4%57.1%58.2%
8th70.0%68.2%69.1%
9th86.5%80.0%82.8%
11th77.4%68.8%73.0%
All Grades73.3%69.6%71.4%
Lake of the Woods County5th**66.7%
8th**87.9%
9th**78.9%
11th**62.1%
All Grades79.7%70.6%74.8%
Le Sueur County5th79.2%64.1%70.3%
8th78.3%81.0%79.7%
9th75.8%67.9%72.0%
11th76.2%68.9%71.9%
All Grades77.3%70.1%73.3%
Lincoln County5th**76.7%
8th**75.0%
9th**77.8%
11th**70.3%
All Grades77.8%72.6%75.0%
Lyon County5th76.0%77.4%76.7%
8th81.1%64.1%73.2%
9th82.2%76.0%79.2%
11th73.0%72.3%72.6%
All Grades78.2%72.8%75.6%
McLeod County5th**83.3%
8th**84.8%
9th***
11th**69.6%
All Grades80.4%75.9%78.1%
Mahnomen County5th76.5%61.5%70.0%
8th46.9%72.0%57.9%
9th72.2%56.4%64.0%
11th**56.8%
All Grades67.0%58.8%62.9%
Marshall County5th**73.7%
8th***
9th**77.4%
11th***
All Grades75.0%77.3%76.1%
Martin County5th81.4%61.4%70.5%
8th86.3%69.5%78.8%
9th76.1%53.8%67.9%
11th75.0%65.3%69.3%
All Grades79.8%62.9%71.6%
Meeker County5th**79.2%
8th79.3%86.7%83.1%
9th**68.3%
11th**75.0%
All Grades74.8%77.8%76.3%
Mille Lacs County5th73.2%62.1%67.6%
8th83.3%71.9%77.1%
9th77.8%64.4%71.6%
11th69.2%62.3%65.7%
All Grades76.1%65.7%70.8%
Morrison County5th73.8%65.9%70.0%
8th79.1%71.9%75.5%
9th85.0%66.7%76.3%
11th67.2%53.3%60.9%
All Grades76.9%65.2%71.3%
Mower County5th69.3%60.9%65.4%
8th70.5%65.9%68.4%
9th61.9%55.0%58.8%
11th57.9%59.3%58.7%
All Grades66.3%60.8%63.7%
Murray County5th85.2%83.3%84.1%
8th87.2%80.6%84.3%
9th93.3%90.0%91.7%
11th74.3%60.7%68.3%
All Grades84.7%79.2%82.0%
Nicollet County5th***
8th***
9th72.3%61.7%67.2%
11th69.3%69.6%69.5%
All Grades70.2%64.0%67.3%
Nobles County5th68.3%67.1%67.8%
8th79.5%63.6%71.7%
9th75.2%69.4%72.4%
11th78.2%67.0%72.6%
All Grades75.5%66.8%71.3%
Norman County5th**83.3%
8th80.6%74.2%77.4%
9th***
11th**77.8%
All Grades77.2%72.6%74.6%
Olmsted County5th80.1%75.9%78.0%
8th80.7%74.5%77.6%
9th77.7%75.3%76.5%
11th75.5%69.7%72.6%
All Grades78.9%74.2%76.6%
Otter Tail County5th77.9%79.1%78.5%
8th87.5%77.0%82.6%
9th78.0%68.5%73.5%
11th75.3%73.7%74.4%
All Grades80.2%74.7%77.5%
Pennington County5th75.4%68.8%72.0%
8th88.3%85.3%86.9%
9th84.5%74.3%78.9%
11th67.2%81.0%73.0%
All Grades79.5%77.0%78.3%
Pine County5th76.2%64.6%70.8%
8th78.3%67.4%72.3%
9th79.3%57.1%67.8%
11th69.3%59.3%64.5%
All Grades76.1%62.5%69.3%
Pipestone County5th74.3%74.2%74.2%
8th74.3%70.6%72.5%
9th64.0%77.8%71.2%
11th**73.9%
All Grades71.8%74.1%73.0%
Polk County5th75.7%68.1%72.0%
8th80.7%71.7%76.2%
9th76.1%71.0%73.5%
11th69.9%70.2%70.0%
All Grades75.6%70.3%73.0%
Pope County5th***
8th84.4%76.9%81.0%
9th79.4%59.5%68.4%
11th69.0%77.8%73.8%
All Grades77.9%70.2%73.9%
Ramsey County5th73.0%70.3%71.7%
8th75.2%68.3%71.8%
9th75.4%70.3%72.9%
11th76.4%69.6%73.0%
All Grades74.8%69.7%72.3%
Red Lake County5th**78.6%
8th**80.4%
9th88.9%56.0%73.1%
11th**63.4%
All Grades83.3%64.4%74.2%
Redwood County5th74.6%60.6%66.9%
8th84.7%69.7%76.3%
9th66.2%70.8%68.6%
11th68.1%64.3%66.0%
All Grades73.4%66.5%69.7%
Renville County5th83.8%62.9%73.6%
8th74.3%55.2%65.6%
9th87.2%82.9%85.1%
11th83.3%66.7%75.0%
All Grades82.3%67.4%75.2%
Rice County5th73.4%67.6%70.3%
8th81.0%67.8%74.7%
9th78.1%74.7%76.4%
11th70.6%70.9%70.7%
All Grades76.0%70.5%73.3%
Rock County5th78.1%70.5%73.7%
8th97.9%77.1%89.0%
9th87.9%74.5%79.8%
11th90.0%57.6%73.0%
All Grades89.4%70.6%79.3%
Roseau County5th88.6%78.4%84.0%
8th67.1%81.3%73.9%
9th84.1%73.7%78.4%
11th72.0%73.7%72.9%
All Grades77.1%76.5%76.8%
St. Louis County5th77.5%73.5%75.4%
8th81.0%79.0%80.1%
9th76.5%72.9%74.8%
11th77.2%69.6%73.3%
All Grades78.1%73.9%76.0%
Scott County5th78.8%76.2%77.5%
8th83.8%78.0%81.0%
9th82.9%76.2%79.5%
11th74.9%72.2%73.6%
All Grades80.6%75.9%78.2%
Sherburne County5th75.0%74.5%74.7%
8th85.0%76.7%81.0%
9th79.1%77.1%78.1%
11th71.0%68.6%69.7%
All Grades78.2%74.5%76.3%
Sibley County5th73.2%63.9%68.4%
8th75.0%61.4%68.4%
9th75.0%63.5%69.5%
11th57.9%44.8%51.3%
All Grades70.5%58.6%64.6%
Stearns County5th73.8%73.3%73.6%
8th76.9%75.8%76.3%
9th76.0%69.5%73.0%
11th69.5%59.7%64.6%
All Grades74.3%70.1%72.2%
Steele County5th82.5%78.9%81.1%
8th79.0%70.5%75.0%
9th74.1%70.0%72.1%
11th72.5%69.9%71.2%
All Grades76.0%70.7%73.5%
Stevens County5th***
8th***
9th**89.3%
11th***
All Grades85.2%86.7%86.0%
Swift County5th***
8th***
9th***
11th***
All Grades***
Todd County5th80.9%69.1%75.3%
8th79.8%70.6%74.9%
9th67.3%54.5%60.9%
11th61.8%61.0%61.4%
All Grades74.3%65.3%69.7%
Traverse County5th**71.4%
8th**85.3%
9th**71.4%
11th***
All Grades75.5%77.6%76.6%
Wabasha County5th88.0%76.7%82.0%
8th86.9%81.8%84.5%
9th84.1%73.1%78.7%
11th67.0%68.9%67.9%
All Grades82.4%75.6%79.0%
Wadena County5th71.9%53.3%63.4%
8th74.7%68.2%71.5%
9th80.4%66.7%73.3%
11th70.8%68.6%69.6%
All Grades74.1%64.2%69.2%
Waseca County5th72.1%64.0%69.1%
8th84.4%69.7%77.4%
9th79.3%71.7%75.3%
11th70.2%66.1%68.5%
All Grades77.7%69.1%73.7%
Washington County5th80.2%77.1%78.7%
8th85.6%81.4%83.6%
9th81.5%75.5%78.6%
11th77.8%73.9%75.8%
All Grades81.6%77.1%79.4%
Watonwan County5th82.0%76.7%79.6%
8th85.4%68.2%77.2%
9th60.9%63.2%62.1%
11th58.8%68.0%64.3%
All Grades73.0%68.6%70.7%
Wilkin County5th**71.1%
8th68.0%63.0%65.4%
9th79.3%60.6%69.4%
11th**53.3%
All Grades70.2%60.9%65.2%
Winona County5th71.1%65.1%67.8%
8th76.1%77.6%76.8%
9th82.0%83.6%82.8%
11th67.7%72.9%70.0%
All Grades74.1%73.5%73.8%
Wright County5th77.8%71.4%74.5%
8th85.6%79.1%82.3%
9th83.5%74.1%78.8%
11th75.9%70.2%73.2%
All Grades81.0%73.9%77.4%
Yellow Medicine County5th76.0%72.0%74.0%
8th74.5%75.6%75.0%
9th84.6%74.4%80.2%
11th**73.3%
All Grades77.8%73.7%75.8%

About the Indicator:

Students were asked a series of questions about their weekly participation in activities outside of school. The students represented in this indicator reported whether they participated in the following community activities:

  • Sports teams, such as park and rec teams, school teams, in-house teams, or traveling teams

  • School sponsored activities or clubs that are not sports, such as drama, music, chess, or science club

  • Tutoring, homework help, or academic programs

  • Leadership activities, such as student government, youth councils, or committees

  • Artistic lessons, such as music or dance

  • Physical activity lessons, such as tennis or karate

  • Other community clubs and programs such as 4-H, Scouts, Y-clubs, or community ed

  • Religious activities such as religious services, education, or youth group

Response options for each of the 8 items are: 0 days; 1 day; 2 days; 3 to 4 days; and 5 or more days. A positive response, presented here, is participation in any combination of these activities, between 1 and 5 times a week.

According to 2019 MSS data, 8th, 9th, and 11th graders who reported participation in 1-5 activities were 1.3 times less likely to report alcohol use; 1.4 times less likely to report tobacco use; 1.9 times less likely to report marijuana use; and 1.6 times less likely to report prescription drug misuse. Use is compared to students who don't participate at all, or who are involved in activities more than 5 times a week.

PLEASE NOTE: The reporting of this indicator changed in 2019, and prior year data were analyzed with the new method. Previously, SUMN.org reported ANY weekly participation ONLY in the following activities:

  • Club or community sports teams, such as park and rec teams
  • Other community clubs and programs such as 4-H, Scouts, Y-clubs, or community ed
  • Religious activities such as religious services, education, or youth group

To access data analyzed with the previous method, or for more clarification, please email info@sumn.org.

 

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.