Purpose

The Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) serves as our statewide youth survey, offering insights into the lives of young people. While it's important to understand the challenges they face and the risky behaviors some may engage in, the true strength of the MSS lies in its ability to highlight what truly works to help kids navigate this time in their lives and keep them from making harmful choices (often called protective factors).
 
As the primary source of comprehensive data on youth at the state, county and local levels in Minnesota, the MSS stands out as the only consistent statewide resource that captures the health and well-being of youth from diverse population groups, including various racial and ethnic communities. The information gathered from the survey is crucial for understanding issues that impact the health, safety and academic success of young people. The survey results empower youth voices in shaping decisions made by programs, schools, communities and state agencies.
 
Since 1989, the MSS has been conducted every three years across regular public elementary and secondary schools, charter schools, tribal schools, alternative learning centers and juvenile correctional facilities. Initially, students in grades 6, 9, and 12 participated; however, starting in 2013, the survey switched and expanded to grades 5, 8, 9, and 11 and transitioned to an electronic format.
 
The MSS covers a broad range of youth behaviors, including risk factors like alcohol, tobacco and drug use, as well as violence and sexual activity. It also addresses positive behaviors and protective factors, such as connections to family, school and community. Some of these questions, however, are specifically directed at students in grades 9 and 11.
 
The MSS is an anonymous survey; no names or identifying codes are collected, ensuring that individual responses cannot be traced back to participants. Students have the option to decline participation, and if they choose to take the survey, they can skip any question or withdraw at any point.
 
Participation in the MSS is open to all public school districts in Minnesota. While it is optional, most districts have opted to participate over the years. In 2022, 70% of school districts took part, with many ensuring that all designated grades were included in the survey.

While implementing a survey can be labor-intensive and costly, the MSS is free to schools and districts and includes validated survey items and measures. Additionally, the MSS Research Team handles the analysis and reporting of the data, making the process seamless for participating schools and districts.

The MSS provides localized data, allowing schools and communities to compare their results with those of other schools, districts, county and statewide results. Furthermore, as a long-running survey, the MSS enables you to track trends and changes over time, providing valuable insights into the evolving landscape of youth behavior and well-being.

School districts, local public health agencies, and community nonprofits use local data to facilitate community forums and foster discussions about the needs of young people. This data is crucial for conducting needs assessments, planning effective programs, evaluating interventions, and securing grant funding.

State agencies utilize the survey results to monitor trends, assess disparities among population groups, and secure both federal and state funding. This information also aids in supporting local communities and schools, ensuring that resources are allocated where they are most needed.

The survey is a collaborative effort involving local schools and four state agencies: the Minnesota Departments of Education, Health, Human Services, and Public Safety. Known as the MSS Interagency Team, staff from these agencies work together to develop the survey content, ensure data quality, analyze the results, and report findings.

Previously, each agency conducted its own student surveys, leading to redundancy and increased burden on survey administrators, schools and students. By joining forces to create a unified survey, these agencies have improved the process, making it easier for schools to administer the survey to their students.

Participation in the survey is entirely voluntary for both school districts and students. Districts can opt out, and parents have the choice to exclude their children from participating. Students also have the freedom to decline to take the survey. Historically, at least 70 percent of school districts have chosen to participate in each survey administration.

All schools are invited to take part in the survey, including public, nonpublic, charter, and tribal schools, as well as alternative learning centers and juvenile correctional facilities. While data is publicly reported for grades 5, 8, 9, and 11, schools have the option to include additional grades if they wish.

The survey gathers insights from students about their activities, opinions, behaviors and experiences. Students respond to questions covering a range of topics, including school climate, bullying, out-of-school activities, healthy eating, emotional health, substance use and connections with family and school. Some questions, such as those about sexual behaviors, are specifically directed at high school students. All responses are kept anonymous.

To track trends in student responses over time, certain questions are repeated every three years. However, as new issues arise and others become less relevant, the survey questions are regularly reviewed for their relevance and effectiveness. The MSS Research Team conducts a thorough examination of all survey items every three years and solicits feedback from stakeholders. Given the survey's already extensive length, any new items introduced must have a clear rationale and purpose.

In 2019, the MSS transitioned to an entirely online format, allowing students to complete the survey on a variety of devices, including desktop computers, laptops, tablets (such as iPads) and netbooks (like Chromebooks). This online survey was designed to meet both federal and state accessibility standards and features a convenient text-to-speech option to enhance usability for all students.

State, county, and district results for the years 2013, 2016, and 2019 can be accessed through online interactive reports and downloadable PDF tables.

For school-level results in PDF format, please reach out via email at mde.studentsurvey@state.mn.us.

Additionally, state results categorized by educational setting (since 2007), racial/ethnic group (since 2007), and sexual orientation (since 2019) can be found on the Minnesota Department of Health website. If you need individual-level data files for further statistical analysis, you can submit a request by completing the MSS Data Request Form and User Agreement.