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Percent of Students Reporting That They Feel That Teachers and School Adults Care About Them Quite a Bit or Very Much, All Available Years: by Grade, Gender, and County

2019
FemaleMaleTotal
Minnesota5th74.1%69.5%71.8%
8th44.2%49.0%46.5%
9th38.9%45.5%42.1%
11th41.3%46.0%43.6%
All Grades50.0%53.1%51.5%
Aitkin County5th87.9%84.1%86.0%
8th50.0%70.2%60.4%
9th42.9%36.4%40.0%
11th34.6%44.8%40.0%
All Grades60.1%64.5%62.3%
Anoka County5th69.2%65.7%67.4%
8th38.1%44.6%41.2%
9th31.3%38.7%34.7%
11th38.3%38.4%38.3%
All Grades45.6%49.1%47.3%
Becker County5th70.4%82.7%76.7%
8th51.6%49.6%50.7%
9th51.3%49.3%50.3%
11th42.5%54.4%48.5%
All Grades53.1%57.7%55.3%
Beltrami County5th64.8%63.6%64.1%
8th38.6%44.4%41.5%
9th37.3%39.1%38.2%
11th46.1%47.2%46.6%
All Grades47.1%49.8%48.4%
Benton County5th75.6%68.4%71.8%
8th37.6%48.5%42.5%
9th44.3%46.9%45.6%
11th45.2%51.3%48.1%
All Grades50.2%54.4%52.3%
Big Stone County5th***
8th**60.0%
9th***
11th***
All Grades40.5%52.0%44.8%
Blue Earth County5th77.2%72.3%74.6%
8th45.8%56.8%51.1%
9th47.1%51.7%49.5%
11th38.1%42.5%40.4%
All Grades53.5%57.1%55.3%
Brown County5th70.6%68.2%69.5%
8th34.6%50.9%43.9%
9th25.0%41.5%33.1%
11th42.7%53.3%47.7%
All Grades43.8%53.2%48.5%
Carlton County5th62.8%66.5%64.6%
8th40.9%48.5%45.3%
9th47.2%49.7%48.5%
11th47.6%47.1%47.3%
All Grades50.6%52.9%51.8%
Carver County5th75.0%71.5%73.2%
8th49.1%50.0%49.6%
9th39.6%36.4%38.1%
11th43.9%45.0%44.4%
All Grades52.2%52.2%52.2%
Cass County5th60.2%61.7%61.0%
8th30.8%45.5%38.3%
9th41.4%42.6%42.0%
11th45.7%42.0%43.9%
All Grades44.0%48.7%46.4%
Chippewa County5th73.5%68.3%71.0%
8th35.5%41.0%38.6%
9th45.3%41.3%43.3%
11th39.6%28.3%34.0%
All Grades49.4%45.4%47.4%
Chisago County5th71.0%64.0%67.7%
8th35.6%36.4%36.0%
9th41.7%42.5%42.1%
11th44.9%48.8%47.0%
All Grades44.5%45.1%44.8%
Clay County5th78.0%65.1%71.2%
8th46.4%46.7%46.5%
9th34.5%44.1%38.9%
11th46.8%54.3%50.2%
All Grades51.8%53.3%52.6%
Clearwater County5th***
8th***
9th***
11th***
All Grades***
Cook County5th**65.4%
8th**46.2%
9th**31.0%
11th**34.4%
All Grades45.2%42.2%43.7%
Cottonwood County5th74.3%72.7%73.5%
8th43.0%44.4%43.8%
9th26.5%36.8%32.3%
11th36.1%43.4%40.0%
All Grades45.0%48.8%47.0%
Crow Wing County5th75.6%54.8%64.0%
8th45.3%53.0%49.2%
9th41.6%46.8%44.2%
11th42.7%42.9%42.8%
All Grades46.7%47.4%47.0%
Dakota County5th74.1%70.5%72.3%
8th43.9%50.3%47.1%
9th39.0%46.5%42.7%
11th40.4%45.6%43.0%
All Grades48.6%53.0%50.8%
Dodge County5th79.5%62.6%71.5%
8th47.9%50.7%49.3%
9th37.6%46.6%42.2%
11th49.1%62.2%56.0%
All Grades55.7%56.0%55.9%
Douglas County5th80.9%75.1%77.9%
8th54.2%50.3%52.3%
9th40.2%52.9%46.0%
11th37.0%60.2%49.8%
All Grades54.9%60.2%57.5%
Faribault County5th78.8%73.1%76.0%
8th36.2%54.2%47.1%
9th44.3%42.3%43.4%
11th38.3%30.4%34.0%
All Grades49.8%50.0%49.9%
Fillmore County5th63.9%71.1%67.6%
8th26.8%46.9%35.6%
9th***
11th**38.9%
All Grades43.4%54.5%49.1%
Freeborn County5th75.0%84.2%79.6%
8th44.1%51.8%48.0%
9th34.7%39.5%37.0%
11th43.8%51.9%47.6%
All Grades49.3%57.0%53.1%
Goodhue County5th63.9%67.0%65.4%
8th31.8%38.4%34.9%
9th**27.7%
11th43.1%35.5%39.6%
All Grades45.7%47.8%46.7%
Grant County5th73.9%72.2%73.2%
8th61.5%65.8%64.1%
9th38.7%58.8%49.2%
11th52.6%44.8%49.3%
All Grades58.2%61.3%59.7%
Hennepin County5th77.2%73.5%75.3%
8th48.2%52.1%50.1%
9th44.0%53.9%48.7%
11th45.3%50.0%47.5%
All Grades53.5%58.1%55.7%
Houston County5th81.4%71.6%76.4%
8th45.2%42.0%43.8%
9th39.1%47.3%42.7%
11th38.0%47.5%42.0%
All Grades47.9%51.9%49.7%
Hubbard County5th70.3%61.3%66.1%
8th47.8%36.6%42.9%
9th45.1%36.4%41.2%
11th33.9%29.8%32.1%
All Grades50.8%42.8%47.2%
Isanti County5th72.5%53.9%63.3%
8th35.9%33.3%34.6%
9th23.9%27.3%25.6%
11th29.0%29.8%29.3%
All Grades41.5%37.2%39.4%
Itasca County5th74.9%69.1%71.9%
8th39.8%34.0%36.9%
9th34.9%32.8%33.9%
11th37.9%49.6%44.1%
All Grades46.8%46.3%46.6%
Jackson County5th91.4%82.1%87.3%
8th38.6%66.7%50.0%
9th47.6%28.8%36.1%
11th**37.3%
All Grades52.8%47.2%49.7%
Kanabec County5th72.7%65.4%69.5%
8th48.2%50.0%49.2%
9th28.4%39.4%34.1%
11th22.2%42.0%31.7%
All Grades43.6%48.5%46.0%
Kandiyohi County5th69.4%70.4%69.9%
8th36.9%41.2%39.2%
9th37.7%45.8%41.9%
11th40.3%44.4%42.2%
All Grades46.5%50.3%48.4%
Kittson County5th***
8th**50.0%
9th**54.2%
11th**63.0%
All Grades50.9%55.0%52.7%
Koochiching County5th71.4%60.0%66.2%
8th**45.7%
9th31.0%35.7%33.3%
11th**26.9%
All Grades50.5%41.9%46.4%
Lac Qui Parle County5th63.6%61.0%62.4%
8th55.3%48.8%52.2%
9th35.7%37.2%36.6%
11th27.9%40.6%33.3%
All Grades46.9%47.2%47.0%
Lake County5th70.3%62.2%66.2%
8th48.1%44.4%46.4%
9th27.0%33.3%30.7%
11th34.3%42.4%38.2%
All Grades45.3%44.6%45.0%
Lake of the Woods County5th**69.0%
8th**39.4%
9th**26.3%
11th**26.7%
All Grades26.2%50.7%39.2%
Le Sueur County5th76.7%67.9%71.5%
8th59.2%60.0%59.6%
9th43.8%52.3%47.8%
11th33.3%41.5%38.1%
All Grades52.9%55.9%54.5%
Lincoln County5th**60.4%
8th**60.0%
9th**37.5%
11th**51.4%
All Grades53.2%52.3%52.7%
Lyon County5th76.0%72.6%74.3%
8th55.5%61.5%58.3%
9th59.3%49.1%54.5%
11th50.5%60.3%55.6%
All Grades61.0%61.2%61.1%
McLeod County5th**67.6%
8th**42.4%
9th***
11th**58.3%
All Grades55.6%50.9%53.2%
Mahnomen County5th71.1%56.3%64.3%
8th24.1%46.2%34.5%
9th24.3%31.0%27.8%
11th**31.6%
All Grades40.7%40.3%40.5%
Marshall County5th**88.6%
8th***
9th**33.3%
11th***
All Grades59.5%65.9%62.7%
Martin County5th75.4%58.4%66.4%
8th60.3%57.4%59.0%
9th40.7%37.0%39.3%
11th41.5%47.4%45.0%
All Grades54.2%50.7%52.5%
Meeker County5th**66.0%
8th22.6%46.9%34.9%
9th**38.6%
11th**38.6%
All Grades43.8%44.6%44.2%
Mille Lacs County5th74.7%70.7%72.7%
8th47.8%48.4%48.2%
9th31.8%40.6%35.9%
11th40.8%51.3%46.1%
All Grades50.4%53.6%52.0%
Morrison County5th76.5%61.1%68.8%
8th48.9%44.2%46.5%
9th38.3%42.3%40.2%
11th40.5%39.6%40.1%
All Grades51.1%47.4%49.3%
Mower County5th75.0%73.5%74.3%
8th37.0%50.4%43.1%
9th29.9%41.3%35.1%
11th28.4%34.9%31.8%
All Grades47.3%53.8%50.4%
Murray County5th69.0%69.2%69.1%
8th56.4%54.8%55.7%
9th52.9%39.4%46.3%
11th62.2%48.3%56.1%
All Grades59.7%53.8%56.8%
Nicollet County5th***
8th***
9th42.0%35.5%38.9%
11th39.5%50.0%44.0%
All Grades41.1%43.1%42.0%
Nobles County5th75.5%67.5%71.9%
8th34.8%47.2%40.9%
9th26.3%39.6%32.8%
11th36.0%48.1%41.8%
All Grades42.2%49.5%45.7%
Norman County5th**58.6%
8th33.3%53.1%42.6%
9th***
11th**44.4%
All Grades38.1%52.6%46.1%
Olmsted County5th71.0%66.8%68.8%
8th40.6%46.1%43.3%
9th44.1%48.8%46.4%
11th43.9%46.5%45.2%
All Grades51.1%53.1%52.1%
Otter Tail County5th75.0%68.7%71.8%
8th46.0%55.1%50.3%
9th36.3%41.1%38.6%
11th42.8%53.5%48.6%
All Grades50.2%55.0%52.6%
Pennington County5th75.8%62.9%68.9%
8th35.9%48.5%41.8%
9th28.8%36.1%32.8%
11th48.3%53.3%50.5%
All Grades46.7%49.8%48.2%
Pine County5th66.7%69.4%68.0%
8th41.5%34.8%37.8%
9th32.5%41.3%37.0%
11th33.3%54.2%43.4%
All Grades45.1%48.9%47.0%
Pipestone County5th87.9%53.1%70.8%
8th48.6%57.6%52.9%
9th44.4%59.3%51.9%
11th**44.7%
All Grades57.6%54.3%56.0%
Polk County5th71.6%66.0%68.9%
8th40.5%44.4%42.5%
9th43.2%43.2%43.2%
11th36.1%44.7%40.0%
All Grades48.4%50.0%49.2%
Pope County5th***
8th63.9%60.0%62.1%
9th51.5%42.5%46.6%
11th48.3%65.7%57.8%
All Grades55.1%55.2%55.2%
Ramsey County5th73.2%69.5%71.4%
8th41.9%48.5%45.0%
9th35.7%43.6%39.6%
11th40.9%44.7%42.7%
All Grades50.5%53.5%52.0%
Red Lake County5th**82.0%
8th**56.6%
9th44.8%42.3%43.6%
11th**48.8%
All Grades57.7%57.7%57.7%
Redwood County5th81.0%70.4%75.4%
8th43.3%52.4%48.6%
9th23.6%37.7%30.5%
11th58.3%39.7%48.1%
All Grades50.2%50.7%50.5%
Renville County5th75.0%52.5%63.8%
8th44.7%63.3%52.9%
9th47.5%66.7%57.0%
11th**52.0%
All Grades54.8%59.5%57.0%
Rice County5th76.0%70.4%73.0%
8th44.2%55.6%49.5%
9th44.8%44.3%44.5%
11th42.4%41.8%42.1%
All Grades51.5%53.5%52.5%
Rock County5th83.8%77.8%80.5%
8th60.4%38.9%51.2%
9th38.2%42.0%40.5%
11th40.6%43.8%42.2%
All Grades57.0%51.5%54.1%
Roseau County5th85.1%65.8%76.5%
8th50.0%32.8%41.7%
9th49.3%42.3%45.5%
11th28.3%36.7%32.7%
All Grades51.9%42.0%46.9%
St. Louis County5th72.3%68.8%70.5%
8th40.3%46.0%43.0%
9th36.9%42.1%39.4%
11th38.4%44.0%41.4%
All Grades47.7%51.5%49.6%
Scott County5th77.4%72.7%75.0%
8th45.5%51.1%48.2%
9th37.1%43.9%40.6%
11th42.8%44.8%43.8%
All Grades50.6%53.3%52.0%
Sherburne County5th73.5%69.3%71.4%
8th43.3%41.4%42.4%
9th33.1%39.2%36.1%
11th35.8%48.6%42.4%
All Grades47.5%50.4%48.9%
Sibley County5th75.8%76.1%76.0%
8th39.1%46.4%42.5%
9th47.1%46.9%47.0%
11th32.8%33.9%33.3%
All Grades48.8%51.9%50.3%
Stearns County5th76.5%69.7%73.1%
8th51.4%57.3%54.4%
9th42.3%47.4%44.6%
11th44.5%45.8%45.1%
All Grades54.3%56.0%55.1%
Steele County5th83.3%63.4%75.2%
8th49.8%48.2%49.0%
9th39.5%49.3%44.5%
11th38.4%50.0%43.9%
All Grades46.5%50.1%48.2%
Stevens County5th***
8th***
9th**57.1%
11th***
All Grades50.0%66.7%58.6%
Swift County5th***
8th***
9th***
11th***
All Grades***
Todd County5th72.2%73.2%72.7%
8th38.9%40.8%39.9%
9th27.3%32.7%30.0%
11th32.7%33.3%33.0%
All Grades45.9%46.8%46.3%
Traverse County5th**51.4%
8th**38.2%
9th**32.1%
11th***
All Grades33.9%44.8%39.5%
Wabasha County5th78.7%67.6%72.8%
8th54.2%53.2%53.7%
9th31.7%46.6%39.0%
11th39.5%45.2%42.2%
All Grades52.4%54.8%53.6%
Wadena County5th75.5%76.3%75.9%
8th45.1%46.2%45.6%
9th29.3%40.7%35.0%
11th38.5%32.9%35.6%
All Grades50.0%50.0%50.0%
Waseca County5th62.0%66.7%63.6%
8th40.7%45.5%43.0%
9th28.7%32.7%30.9%
11th35.7%45.9%40.0%
All Grades39.5%43.1%41.2%
Washington County5th75.8%71.0%73.4%
8th44.7%49.5%47.0%
9th38.7%48.1%43.3%
11th38.1%43.7%40.9%
All Grades49.7%53.4%51.5%
Watonwan County5th73.1%82.4%77.1%
8th32.0%40.5%35.9%
9th30.6%39.3%35.2%
11th36.1%24.5%29.4%
All Grades46.0%47.0%46.5%
Wilkin County5th**68.2%
8th30.8%57.7%44.2%
9th63.0%55.6%59.3%
11th**48.9%
All Grades46.2%62.7%54.9%
Winona County5th72.9%63.7%67.8%
8th47.2%55.4%51.4%
9th45.3%44.9%45.1%
11th48.4%31.4%40.7%
All Grades55.4%53.9%54.6%
Wright County5th77.5%70.6%73.9%
8th52.3%55.2%53.8%
9th41.3%44.6%43.0%
11th39.5%47.8%43.4%
All Grades52.8%55.0%53.9%
Yellow Medicine County5th74.1%43.6%59.3%
8th38.8%50.0%44.0%
9th37.7%51.2%43.6%
11th**65.1%
All Grades53.8%50.8%52.4%

About the Indicator:

Feeling cared about by people in their lives is a factor associated with protection against both substance use and mental health disorders. According to 2019 MSS data, students who think their teachers and other school adults care about them “quite a bit” or “very much” are 2.1 times less likely to report past month alcohol use, 2.1 times less likely to report past month tobacco use, 2.5 times less likely to report past month marijuana use, and 2.7 times less likely to report any past month prescription drug misuse as compared to those who think their relatives only care “some,” “a little,” or “not at all.” N/A indicates that the data are unavailable or were not collected.

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.