YouthTruth | Resources

Students Weigh In: Learning & Well-Being After COVID-19

In response to a stark lack of firsthand data about how students were faring during the COVID-19 pandemic, YouthTruth launched the Students Weigh In project in spring 2020. This series of reports draws upon data from over 500,000 secondary students across more than 600 schools and tracks how secondary students’ perceptions of learning and well-evolved across four time periods (spring 2020, fall 2020, spring 2021, and the 2022-23 school year) relative to the student experience prior to COVID-19.

Students Weigh In

Part 1, July 2020

Students Weigh In

Part 2, February 2021

Students Weigh In

Part 3, August 2021

Students Weigh In

Part 4, April 2023

Students Weigh In: Spotlight on Belonging & Peer Collaboration

October 2021

Students Weigh In: In Students' Own Words

January 2022

Learning from Student and Stakeholder Voice

Since 2008, YouthTruth has been listening. We’ve partnered with schools and districts to accelerate local change based on student feedback. Through this work we’ve heard from over 1.5 million students across the country.

What are we learning? In 2016, we launched the Learning from Student Voice series to bring that data and insight to bear on pressing challenges related to school experience and improvement.

Additional Reports:

Academic Rigor, College & Career 2017, Bullying 2017, College & Career 2016, Bullying 2016

Guidebooks & Videos

Driving Educational Equity

In this guidebook, you’ll find best practices for exploring student survey data with an equity lens, examples of how other educators are leading through listening, and research-based protocols and practical tips for discussing and taking action to address inequities in your school system. This video shows how YouthTruth supports equity work. Check out our Driving Equity through Data Webinar.

Bullying Prevention

As YouthTruth has articulated local and national findings, educators have asked, “Based on this sobering data, what is my next action?” Use this guidebook to help you move from data to action with some top-notch, 100% free resources and address bullying in schools and beyond. The guide includes tools and strategies from Teaching Tolerance, Teach Kindness, Facing History and Ourselves, and more.

Student Voice in Action

In this guidebook, you’ll find protocols and strategies to engage students in school climate data and lead alongside adults in defining and meeting improvement goals. Learn how YouthTruth and districts like San Luis Coastal Unified District, Monterey Peninusla Unified School District, Oxnard Union High School District, West Contra Costa Unified School District, and the High Tech High network are elevating student voice to accelerate change here.

Success Stories

Leading Through Listening:
Student & Community Voices in Sonoma County

Sonoma County students have faced a constellation of traumas over the past four years: multiple devastating fire events and floods, a pandemic, an experiment in remote schooling, economic and political instability, a national racial justice movement stemming from police killings of Black Americans. Given the compounding stressors that Sonoma students have and continue to face, a trauma-informed approach to recovery both in and out of school is essential.

In January 2020, YouthTruth helped 10 Sonoma County school districts hear from nearly 30,000 students, parents and guardians, and school staff community members. Educators, community members, parents understand that there is a role that everyone can play in supporting the resilience of their youth. Watch the webinar presentation of the key insights and download the full report.

Student Voice Drives Change Across 15 States

Strengthening Relationships in Northern California

College and Career Readiness in Southern California

Student Voice in Oregon Drives Change

Thinking About Equity in Washington State

District Strategic Planning in Texas

Research

Student perception data leads to a more nuanced understanding of school and teacher performance and – as a leading indicator of student outcomes – enables mid-course adjustments before it’s too late. With students’ perceptions linked to academic performance and teacher quality, recent evidence suggests that student feedback should be a critical component of school improvement initiatives.

We draw our empirical inspiration from a growing body of research linking student perceptions to academic performance and teacher effectiveness.

The 15-year research synthesis from the American Educational Research Association (AERA), “Research Synthesis of the Associations Between Socioeconomic Background, Inequality, School Climate, and Academic Achievement,” suggests that by promoting a positive climate, schools can allow greater equality in educational opportunities, decrease socioeconomic inequalities, and enable more social mobility for students.

Stanford University’s John W. Gardner Center finds that students’ motivational beliefs are closely related to their achievement. Classroom practices that encourage effort and understanding and create a caring learning environment will improve student motivation.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Measures of Effective Teaching project found that “student survey results are predictive of student achievement.” The MET study also “found that student surveys produce more consistent results than classroom observations or achievement gain measures.”

Other studies linking student perceptions with student learning and academic achievement: