Teachers/Principals

Over 1.2 million students drop out of high school every year. Gallup's research has shown that hope, engagement, and wellbeing are key factors that drive students' grades, achievement scores, retention, and future employment. This same research has also revealed the following:

• Hope is more predictive of academic success than traditional measures.
• Nearly 3 in 10 (28%) of students are actively disengaged at school.
• Student engagement declines from grades 5 through 12.
• Almost half (45%) of U.S. students surveyed are either struggling or suffering.
• Suffering students are nearly five times more likely to be actively disengaged at school.

Source: Gallup student survey data collected via Web and scan 2006 through 2008, n>97,000

By participating in the Gallup Student Poll, your school will join thousands of other schools across America in helping to measure the hope, engagement, and wellbeing of our students. There is no fee for participating, and all student information will remain completely anonymous.

The survey itself takes less than 10 minutes to complete. In addition to several demographic questions (age, grade, gender, etc.), students are asked 20 core questions about what they do, how they think, and how they feel about their home, school, and community life. The following questions are examples that the survey intends to answer about America's students.

• Do your teachers make you feel your schoolwork is important?
• Did you learn or do something interesting yesterday?
• Can you find lots of ways around any problem?
• Do you energetically pursue your goals?

The Gallup Student Poll is conducted in school classrooms or computer labs over a two-week period chosen by the school's principal. All data is stored, aggregated, and analyzed by Gallup at the school level (not the student, class, or grade level). At the close of the two-week period, a school's results are shared with the principal and superintendent via an online scorecard. District superintendents and city leaders will also have access to district-wide or city-wide data.