Des Moines opts out of Iowa Youth Survey

A statewide survey that identifies behavior trends and gathers data about risks confronted by Iowa’s youths will be administered in about 300 Iowa school districts beginning this week, but some districts are opting out of the process.

Students in Des Moines schools will not be participating in the biennial Iowa Youth Survey given to sixth-, eighth- and 11th-graders. A spokesman said the state’s largest district this fall will conduct its own survey created by the Gallup company.

“We felt conducting both surveys would simply be redundant,” spokesman Phil Roeder said via email Friday.

In 2012, 70,770 students statewide took the Iowa Youth Survey, which continued a trend of reduced participation since 2005, when 98,246 students completed it, said Patrick McGovern, Iowa Youth Survey coordinator at the Iowa Department of Public Health.

McGovern hopes to increase the number of students and districts participating this year and said having thousands of students take about 30 minutes every other year is worth it.

Information gained can help districts reduce risky behavior, said McGovern, who previously worked at the Iowa Consortium for Substance Abuse Research and Evaluation and was brought on earlier this year to oversee the survey.

“That’s to me the bottom line,” he said. “What can we do to improve the students’ chances for success?”

As of Friday 307, or nearly 88 percent, of the state’s approximately 350 public school districts had registered for the survey. About 20 private school districts also had signed up.

A new question on the survey will ask students if in the past 30 days they have “used synthetic drugs (this may include spice, k2, herbal incense, fake weed, Yucatan fire, skunk, moon rocks, etc.).” Another seeks similar details about electronic cigarette usage.

District administrators can choose whether their students answer the computer questionnaire. Parents also can choose to not have a child participate. The survey will be administered todaythrough Oct. 31.

Education officials have differing viewpoints about the value of taking the survey at a time when there are pressures associated with meeting new standards and initiatives.

This will be the second consecutive year the Des Moines district has conducted the Gallup survey, which is given to fifth- through 12th-graders. Last year 75 percent, or about 13,750 students, participated, Roeder said.

“For what we need to do and want to do, we feel our approach is a better way to go,” he said.

The Gallup assessment doesn’t ask about electronic cigarettes or synthetic marijuana, Roeder said, and “doesn’t get into personal behavior” related to substance abuse.

“The main focus is on the attitude of students, how hopeful they feel, how engaged they are with school and their sense of well-being,” he said.

Although the number of students participating in the Iowa Youth Survey has declined, some school administrators say the evolving data set it yields offers a fresh understanding of risks faced in their communities.

“I just feel like we will continue to take it every two years because it provides us valuable data about our students that we really need,” Southeast Polk Superintendent Craig Menozzi said.

Information from the state’s survey helps counselors and administrators develop programs to combat issues like bullying and substance abuse, Menozzi said.

State officials return districts’ information about their students a few months after the survey is completed. It is valuable for several reasons, including grant applications and curriculum development, McGovern said.

Though not familiar with the specifics of the Des Moines survey, McGovern said it’s likely there are similarities among the two, but “there’s got to be some questions that don’t overlap.”

Elaine Watkins-Miller, a spokeswoman for the West Des Moines school district, said two surveys are given there. In addition to the state survey, West Des Moines administers its own Vision Survey to assess how students feel about their educational environment.

“It is certainly one of the pieces we use,” she said of the Iowa Youth Survey.

Districts that haven’t informed the state they want to participate in the 2014 survey still can sign up, McGovern said.

“What I would love to see is that all school districts share the data they get back with their school boards,” he said. “It’s up to the local administrators.”

Iowa Youth Survey

Participation in the state-administered survey peaked in 2005 but has since decreased by 28 percent.

1999: 85,552

2002: 96,971

2005: 98,246

2008: 97,741

2010: 78,382

2012: 70,770

Source: Iowa Department of Public Health.

What they said

See how students responded to 2012 survey questions and what officials learned in the report. Go to www.iowayouthsurvey.iowa.gov/counties/county_2012.html for county-by-county results.