Panther Creek High School students will have the opportunity to participate in the High School Survey of Student Engagement 2008 (HSSSE) during Period 2 on May 21. This survey is a part of a research and professional development project being conducted by the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at the Indiana University School of Education. The purpose of the project is to help high school administrators and teachers understand factors affecting student engagement and to help them use the survey data to improve or implement practices that will strengthen student engagement in their own schools. At Panther Creek, HSSSE directly supports the goals of our School Improvement Plan and will provide the school with valuable information about how our students feel about their high school experience, especially the instructional program.

HSSSE can be completed fairly quickly; twenty minutes is the estimated time needed. There are thirty-five (35) survey items, a few asking for general student demographic information, but the majority asking about student beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors as they relate to a typical high school experience. Participation in HSSSE is optional, but the school encourages students to participate and carefully consider their responses. The survey is anonymous for students and does not identify individual teachers. The school will only receive a summary of responses.

For more information on HSSSE, you may visit http://www.indiana.edu/~ceep/hssse/.

If you have questions regarding the administration of HSSSE to Panther Creek students, you may contact Ruth Wormald, Assessment Coordinator at Panther Creek, at 919-463-8693 or at rwormald@wcpss.net.