School Health: Minnesota Student Survey

Minnesota Student Survey results are available for each school district that participates and can be used to assist in facilitating and completing a school health services needs assessment.

The Minnesota Student Survey (MSS) is a survey of young people, completed every 3 years, regarding a variety of risk and protective factors. The survey asks young people questions about their activities, opinions, behaviors, and experiences. It includes questions on an array of issues, such as substance abuse, school climate, violence and safety concerns, healthy eating, out-of-school activities, connections to school, community and family and many other questions. The survey is administered in schools, alternative learning centers, and juvenile correctional facilities. The purpose of the survey has been to:

• Provide data for program planning and evaluation.
• Meet state and federal student survey requirements.
• Address relevant issues confronting students.
• Mark trends over time.
• Involve schools/other educational settings statewide and provide data for local use.

Even if your school district did not participate in the survey, the data is a great resource for thinking about what is affecting Minnesota youth and most likely the students in your school.

Additional Resource

How are the Children? Minnesota Student Survey: Student Health & Wellbeing District Decision Makers is a document that makes the case for more student health services and advocates for a full-time school nurse in every building by sharing results from the MN Student Survey (MSS) data on health analyses demonstrating how chronic health conditions, anxiety, and depression intersect with chronic absenteeism and academic engagement.

The School Nurse Organization of Minnesota (SNOM)/Advocacy/Advocacy Tools is home to this document.