In a recent survey published by the Center for Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), 48% of high school students said their school is “pretty good as is,” while 43% said some changes were needed and 9% said a lot of changes were needed. But recent graduates are even more likely to see a need for improvement; only 38% rated their high school as pretty good, while most advocated some (45%) or a lot (17%) of changes. Both current students and recent grads tended to feel more positively about their schools’ efforts at helping them learn academic material, but ratings went down when they were asked about preparation for success or for a job or career after high school.
The survey of 800 current students and 500 recent grads also asked respondents about their feelings of physical and emotional safety at school and how those feelings contributed to their ability to learn. Students identified such factors as stress and disruptive classmates as interfering with their learning. And most expressed support for programs that would help them build social and emotional skills.
Source: DePaoli, J.L., Atwell, M.N., Bridgeland, J.M., Shriver, T.P. (2018). Respected: Perspectives of youth on high school and social and emotional learning. Chicago: CASEL.
