District-wide surveys are used in a variety of ways around the district and are designed to collect feedback from some of our main district stakeholders. Although there is a general understanding that some of the same topics are examined in these surveys, a comparison of these surveys to determine any direct overlap in survey items has not been…

Over the past two decades, there has been rapid growth in understanding of bullying in schools and its many negative effects. The reported incidence of bullying and other school violence has increased over time, and UNESCO recently estimated that 246 million children and adolescents experience violence in and around school every year (UNESCO…

In 2002 the Council of the Great City Schools and its members set out to develop performance measures that could be used to improve business operations in urban public school districts. The Council launched the Performance Measurement and Benchmarking Project to achieve these objectives. The purposes of the project were to: (1) Establish a common…

Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. students attend rural schools. After a two-year pandemic, issues related to funding, teacher recruitment and retention, and serving disadvantaged students have become more severe in rural school districts. In the five-part report series, "Educational Equity for Rural Students: Out of the Pandemic, but Still Out of the…

Sports participation has positive effects on youth development, improving physical health, social skills and psychological well-being. Additionally, research has found that sports participation is related to greater feelings of school belonging and pro-school behaviors. Despite these benefits, some research has found negative effects of sports…

The federal Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) was introduced into law as part of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994. The federal law requires states funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965 to have a state law in effect that requires local education agencies (LEAs) to expel students for firearm offenses for a…

This poll was conducted between June 15-June 25, 2022 among a sample of 1,000 all teachers. The interviews were conducted online. Among the key findings are: (1) Teachers report spending over $500 of their own money in the last school year on classroom materials, and they spent around $300 on professional development; (2) Teachers are much more…

This poll was conducted between December 16-December 24, 2021 among a sample of 1000 All Teachers. The interviews were conducted online. Results based on the full survey have a measure of precision of plus or minus 3.24 percentage points. Among the key findings are: (1) In the last month, one out of five teachers have reported having to quarantine…

This poll was conducted between December 14-December 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) In December, the public's positive views about the…

This poll was conducted between October 12-October 16, 2021 among a sample of 2,200 adults. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of adults based on gender, educational attainment, age, race, and region. Among the key findings are: (1) Parents' comfort with their children returning to school…

The federal Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA) enacted in1994 requires U.S. public school systems to report any incident of a student bringing a firearm to school or being in possession of a firearm on school property, the law applies to all states and jurisdictions funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Under federal…

According to a national [2017-18] survey conducted by National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), school counselors overwhelmingly oppose efforts to arm educators as a response to gun violence in schools. Nearly three-quarters of 2,251 counselors who responded were either "somewhat opposed" or "strongly…

This poll was conducted between August 22-August 26, 2024 among a national sample of 1,002 Teens. The interviews were conducted online and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of Teens based on gender, age, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a measure of precision of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. This…

In the spring of 2017, the AISD Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) administered the Substance Use and Safety Survey (SSUSS) to track middle and high school students' self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and behavior related to substance use and perceptions of school safety. Results from this survey are used to inform and assist with…

As the body of research on school violence grows, so does the understanding of the features, causes, and consequences of student victimization (Chouhy, Madero-Hernande, and Turanovic 2017). Among students who experience victimization, lower academic performance can become an issue particularly for adolescents who avoid or skip school following the…