Secondary Students Are Not Engaged In Academic Work

A study of high school student engagement reveals some major concerns about college preparation and completion (see http://ceep.indiana.edu/hssse/pdf/HSSSE_2006_Report.pdf). Engagement within a high school context is about a student’s relationship with the school community (adults, peers, curriculum, facilities, etc). HSEE uses a national sample of grades 9-12 to find that:

• Fewer than half of the students go to high school because of what happens within the classroom environment
• A great majority of students are bored every day, if not in every class
• 43% spend 0-1 hour doing written homework, 83% spend 5 hours or less
• 55% spend 0 or 1 hour per week reading and studying for class, 90% spend 5 hours or fewer
• Students want more active learning such as peer working groups and presentations
• Girls report being more engaged across all dimensions of high school engagement than boys. (Girls were 58% of 4 year college graduates in 2006).

This study reveals many of them are at risk students who will not experience college success.