found in the 6th grade version as it is shorter and has content variations specifically designed to be age appropriate. The sections on each survey are: Demographics, Community, Drug Use, Physical and Other Injury, Individual/Peer, Nutrition/Fitness, School and Family. Additional Surveying Options: Some schools choose to survey their entire student body at an additional price. If surveying by paper/pencil, there is a one dollar fee charged for every student taking the survey that does not fall within the state-funded grade levels (6, 8, 10, and 12), and for students within the state-funded grade levels but over the percentage of students per grade level that the state designates. Survey Participation Formula: At the 6th and 8th grade levels, all students participate regardless of the schools’ grade level enrollment numbers. In 10th and 12th grades, if the grade level enrollment is 450 or less, all students in that grade level participate. If the grade level enrollment is over 450 students, then a sample of half of the students participate. If surveying a sample at the 10th and/or 12th grade levels, results accurately represent the whole grade level as long as the set of classes chosen by the school to participate is representative of the grade level. School Eligibility: All public and private schools in are eligible to participate in the IYS as long as: They have a year-round student population that is capable of comprehending and responding to the question contents (for example, Dept. of Corrections schools are not eligible). The school has at one of the four eligible grade levels, with at least 20 students in one or more of the eligible grade levels At the beginning of each survey we acquire the most recent school listing from ISBE, and remove schools that do not meet eligibility requirements. Because of the continually changing nature of a school’s student population, occasional registrations from schools that do not meet eligibility requirements are received, mostly in regard to grade level size. Survey Tools and Process (continued) Survey Administration: The survey is administered every two years in even-numbered years. The school can choose one or more dates in February, March or April to administer the survey. If the school chooses multiple survey dates, Lighthouse Institute recommends that the dates are as close together as possible to reduce or eliminate chances of cross-talk between students that have already taken the survey and students that have not taken the survey. If the school finds that additional survey materials are needed, they should contact the IYS office
Identifying Barriers Barriers may be real or perceived, but they must be addressed in order for the school to commit to participating in the Illinois Youth Survey. Some of the common barriers that have been identified by schools are: Competing Priorities Loss of class time or academic focus in class “With PSAE, ISAT and ACT prep testing, we lose instructional time and have no other time for surveys” “Our school is on the warning list. As a result, we have an academic focus and no time for a survey.” Staff time or other competing priorities “I don’t have the time to conduct and supervise the survey and no one else wants to do this project” “We are committed to a new discipline system, new advisories and a huge interdisciplinary unit. We do not want to commit to anything else.” Other survey participation: “We did a local survey through the Health Department” “We only do a county wide needs assessment every four years. We conducted this survey the last school year” Communities that Care Survey American Drug and Alcohol survey CPRD Social Norms survey Various surveys School or Community Problem with Questions “This is a waste of taxpayer money. Wouldn’t it be better to use this money to fund schools?” “These questions are not appropriate for our age group of 6th grade students.” “We would have a community concern because of parents being upset about invading their rights to privacy.” “Some church members object to the 6th graders being exposed to the survey questions” Staff Changes or Cuts Our district has cut so many programs and staff, no one needs another thing to do” “Staff person is retiring and do not want to commit the new person to a survey” Identifying Barriers (continued) 4) Board Policy “It’s against district policy to survey students” “Our school board is adverse to outside surveys”