The Disturbing Trend of Declining Student Engagement

Complete report

Let's take a closer look at engagement with each group, starting with students. Engaged students are excited about what's happening at their school and about what they're learning. They contribute to the learning environment and are psychologically committed to their school. Engaged students feel safe at school, have strong relationships with teachers and other students, feel recognized on a regular basis, and are learning important things that connect them to a positive future.

Gallup has conducted more than 5 million surveys with students in grades five through 12 over the past several years. These students have come from every state and from a range of rural, suburban and urban school settings. Two key findings have received broad attention and are worth repeating here.

1. Almost half of students who responded to the survey are engaged with school (47%), with approximately one-fourth "not engaged" (29%) and the remainder "actively disengaged" (24%).
   A closer look at the data by grade level reveals a disturbing trend. Engagement is strong at the end of elementary school, with nearly three-quarters of fifth-graders (74%) reporting high levels of engagement. But similar surveys have shown a gradual and steady decline in engagement from fifth grade through about 10^th grade, with approximately half of students in middle school reporting high levels of engagement and about one-third of high school students reporting the same.
   
2. Certain elements of engagement tend to be key drivers. In the early years of the research, Gallup discovered two items that had a powerful connection to engagement. Students who were able to "strongly agree" with the statements "My school is committed to building the strengths of each student" and "I have at least one teacher who makes me excited about the future" were 30 times as likely to be engaged at school when compared with students who strongly disagreed with the same items. A key to building a culture of student engagement is to have students who partner with caring adults to develop their potential.
   

Engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to say that they get excellent grades and do well in school, and they are 4.5 times more likely to be hopeful about the future than their actively disengaged peers.

The Potential for Engaging Our Nation's Teachers

An important driver of student engagement is the engagement of their teachers. Engaged teachers are loyal and psychologically committed to their employer. Their experience includes a valuable relationship with a caring principal who coaches them, offers meaningful recognition on a regular basis, and helps them learn and grow throughout their career. They are surrounded by committed coworkers who build trusting and often deep relationships. Engaged teachers give the discretionary effort needed to ensure that their students are successful.

Across the many millions of Gallup surveys on engagement, about one-third of employees are engaged (33%), while about half are not engaged (51%) and the remaining 16% are actively disengaged. Clearly, there is potential for growing engagement in the typical workplace. So, how are we doing on engaging our nation's teachers? Unfortunately, not much better than the typical workplace. Two notable takeaways:

1. While elementary school teachers tend to be more engaged than their peers at the secondary level, overall teacher engagement is quite similar to that of other professions, with just over 30% reporting high levels of engagement.
   
2. A study of the individual elements of teacher engagement reveals a key finding: When asked whether their opinions count, K-12 teachers' positive responses are consistently lower than those of employees in other professions.
   

School leaders need to do a much better job of soliciting teacher input early in the decision-making process to ensure that teachers are heard. This approach will not only lead to higher levels of teacher engagement, but will likely also lead to better decisions.