NAIS Research: Trends in the 2024 High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) and Pre-Pandemic Benchmark Comparison

By Grant Stringer
NAIS Research Analyst
February 2025

Background

NAIS Research: Trends in the 2024 High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) and Pre-Pandemic Benchmark ComparisonThe National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) has collaborated with the Center for Evaluation, Policy, & Research (CEPR) at Indiana University to offer the High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE) and the Middle Grades Survey of Student Engagement (MGSSE) to independent schools interested in assessing student engagement. The HSSSE, designed for students in grades 9 through 12, and the MGSSE, for students in grades 5 through 9, are student-centered surveys that explore students’ attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs about their academic work, the learning environment, and their interactions within the school community.

Student engagement is increasingly recognized as a critical factor in fostering a safe, positive, and creative school climate that enhances student achievement while reducing boredom, alienation, and dropout rates. The data collected from the HSSSE and the MGSSE can be invaluable for schools in this endeavor. Unlike traditional knowledge-based assessments, the HSSSE and MGSSE focus on student engagement, offering insights into how schools cultivate 21st-century skills in students while creating a supportive, nurturing environment that addresses the needs of the whole child.

This report includes the results of the 2024 HSSSE.

Introduction

The pandemic’s onset in early 2020 led to widespread school closures, a shift to online learning, and a host of other educational disruptions that altered the typical high school experience. This report illuminates the state of student engagement at independent high schools in a post-pandemic setting by presenting findings from the 2024 High School Survey of Student Engagement and benchmarking these findings against the 2019 HSSSE. Comparing pre-pandemic data (2019 HSSSE) with data collected during the 2023-2024 academic year (2024 HSSSE) reveals changes in student engagement.

In spring 2024, a total of 2,985 students from 15 schools located across 10 U.S. states/territories and one international country completed the High School Survey of Student Engagement. The participating schools varied in size, ranging from 39 to 1,754 students, with an average enrollment of 416 students.

This report presents aggregated results for all NAIS students who participated in the HSSSE. The findings are categorized into three key dimensions of engagement featured in the survey:

  • Dimension 1: Captures the endeavors, commitment, and methodologies employed by students in the pursuit of learning—encompassing the cognitive work and approach-to-work that students employ. This dimension can be characterized as “engagement of the mind.”
  • Dimension 2: Encompasses students’ participation in social, extracurricular, and nonacademic school undertakings, including their interactions with peers—illuminating the ways students engage within their school community. This dimension can be conceptualized as “engagement in the life of the school."
  • Dimension 3: Highlights students’ sense of affiliation (or lack thereof) with their school—focusing on their emotions regarding their place in school, the operations of the school, and the individuals within it. This dimension can be articulated as “engagement of the heart.”

Executive Summary

This report analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on high school student engagement by comparing data from the 2019 and the 2024 HSSSE. The 2024 survey reflects responses from 2,985 students across 15 schools in diverse geographic locations. The data are organized into three dimensions of engagement: engagement of the mind, engagement in the life of the school, and engagement of the heart.

Key Findings:

Engagement of the Mind

  • There was a slight decrease in students’ perception of cognitive skills such as critical thinking and technology use. However, students reported improvement in applying academic lessons to real-life scenarios.
  • Although student participation in dynamic classroom practices (like discussion) saw a slight increase, fewer students felt academically challenged, with seniors reporting the lowest level of engagement in their classes.

Engagement in the Life of the School

  • Students demonstrated reduced involvement in school-sponsored extracurricular activities, with the percentage of students who dedicated significant hours to such activities declining.
  • Students’ friends became the leading motivator for attendance, slightly surpassing parental influence.
  • Schools have become more effective in teaching students respect for others but less effective in fostering empathy for those outside the school environment.

Engagement of the Heart

  • Most students continued to feel supported by their peers and believed that they had a trusted adult at school, although students in the upper grades were more likely to feel this way than those in the lower grades.
  • Students’ motivation to succeed academically and pursue good grades remained high, with slight improvements in students’ ability to see the value of academic work for their life in the future.
  • Perceptions of fairness in rule enforcement improved slightly, but students were less likely to report that their school helped shape personal values and beliefs.

Overall, this report highlights the nuanced effects of the pandemic on the engagement of students at independent high schools. These effects indicate areas of post-pandemic recovery, ongoing challenges with student engagement, and opportunities for growth within independent school communities.

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