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Caring School Adults

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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, Race, Gender, and Region

2019
FemaleMaleTotal
Minnesota5thAfrican-American or Black71.2%68.5%69.8%
All Races Combined74.1%69.5%71.8%
Asian American76.7%71.6%74.1%
White75.8%69.8%72.8%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial65.0%66.3%65.7%
Native American70.7%65.0%67.4%
Hispanic/Latino74.2%72.0%73.2%
Pacific Islander64.8%58.2%61.2%
8thAfrican-American or Black41.5%46.2%43.9%
All Races Combined44.2%49.0%46.5%
Asian American45.3%52.0%48.6%
White46.7%49.9%48.3%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial33.2%43.5%37.8%
Native American32.8%45.6%40.1%
Hispanic/Latino38.3%47.1%42.8%
Pacific Islander36.6%50.8%45.2%
9thAfrican-American or Black40.9%46.8%43.8%
All Races Combined38.9%45.5%42.1%
Asian American38.2%43.0%40.5%
White40.8%46.7%43.7%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial29.4%40.4%34.4%
Native American24.8%34.5%29.7%
Hispanic/Latino33.4%43.3%38.3%
Pacific Islander36.4%40.9%39.0%
11thAfrican-American or Black39.5%45.0%42.2%
All Races Combined41.3%46.0%43.6%
Asian American36.8%41.2%39.0%
White43.5%47.9%45.7%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial32.2%38.4%35.1%
Native American40.3%37.0%38.7%
Hispanic/Latino32.4%40.9%36.4%
Pacific Islander**41.7%
All GradesAfrican-American or Black50.9%53.9%52.4%
All Races Combined50.0%53.1%51.5%
Asian American50.0%52.9%51.4%
White51.4%53.6%52.5%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial39.6%47.6%43.3%
Native American47.4%51.5%49.7%
Hispanic/Latino45.4%51.2%48.2%
Pacific Islander48.6%49.0%48.9%
Metro5thAfrican-American or Black69.3%68.5%68.9%
All Races Combined74.4%70.6%72.5%
Asian American77.6%72.6%75.1%
White76.5%71.1%73.8%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial66.9%67.1%67.0%
Native American68.3%68.2%68.3%
Hispanic/Latino75.1%72.4%73.8%
Pacific Islander**63.0%
8thAfrican-American or Black41.5%46.5%44.0%
All Races Combined44.1%49.6%46.8%
Asian American45.5%52.6%48.9%
White46.8%50.5%48.6%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial32.9%43.6%37.6%
Native American32.5%54.2%46.4%
Hispanic/Latino42.1%49.2%45.7%
Pacific Islander40.7%54.3%48.4%
9thAfrican-American or Black40.6%47.0%43.7%
All Races Combined39.0%47.3%43.0%
Asian American38.5%44.0%41.2%
White40.7%49.2%44.8%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial31.4%42.5%36.4%
Native American26.3%27.8%27.0%
Hispanic/Latino35.1%44.4%39.7%
Pacific Islander**48.8%
11thAfrican-American or Black38.8%45.1%41.9%
All Races Combined41.7%45.6%43.6%
Asian American36.4%41.0%38.8%
White45.1%48.0%46.5%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial34.6%38.2%36.2%
Native American38.7%19.2%29.8%
Hispanic/Latino31.6%42.3%36.6%
Pacific Islander**40.9%
All GradesAfrican-American or Black50.1%54.1%52.1%
All Races Combined50.2%54.1%52.1%
Asian American50.2%53.3%51.8%
White51.8%54.9%53.3%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial40.9%48.3%44.3%
Native American50.6%55.3%53.3%
Hispanic/Latino47.0%52.6%49.7%
Pacific Islander44.7%57.3%52.0%
Non-Metro5thAfrican-American or Black77.2%68.5%72.6%
All Races Combined73.8%68.2%71.0%
Asian American72.5%66.7%69.6%
White75.2%68.7%72.0%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial62.3%65.2%63.7%
Native American71.7%63.6%67.0%
Hispanic/Latino72.9%71.3%72.2%
Pacific Islander66.7%52.9%59.7%
8thAfrican-American or Black41.3%45.5%43.5%
All Races Combined44.2%48.3%46.2%
Asian American44.2%49.4%46.8%
White46.6%49.4%48.0%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial33.6%43.3%37.9%
Native American32.8%42.9%38.4%
Hispanic/Latino32.5%43.7%38.0%
Pacific Islander**40.5%
9thAfrican-American or Black42.1%46.2%44.2%
All Races Combined38.9%43.5%41.2%
Asian American36.9%36.8%36.8%
White41.0%44.5%42.7%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial26.7%37.4%31.5%
Native American24.4%36.2%30.3%
Hispanic/Latino30.7%41.5%36.0%
Pacific Islander**27.8%
11thAfrican-American or Black41.2%44.8%43.0%
All Races Combined40.7%46.4%43.6%
Asian American38.8%41.9%40.4%
White42.2%47.8%45.0%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial28.6%38.8%33.6%
Native American40.6%40.6%40.6%
Hispanic/Latino33.7%38.9%36.1%
Pacific Islander**42.3%
All GradesAfrican-American or Black53.5%53.4%53.5%
All Races Combined49.8%52.0%50.9%
Asian American49.2%50.4%49.7%
White51.1%52.6%51.8%
Bi-Racial/Multi-Racial37.7%46.6%41.8%
Native American46.4%50.2%48.5%
Hispanic/Latino43.0%49.1%45.9%
Pacific Islander52.9%40.6%45.6%

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.