The K through 12 Experience

When looking at K – 12 schools that administer all three Inclusivity Index surveys, the Lower, Middle and Upper School versions in the same year, we often find insights in the transitions between surveys. In each of the three grade-based phases, students tend to begin with a more positive outlook on the school which then declines as they move forward in that phase. Interestingly, the phenomenon is that after students transition to the next phase, their views of the school demonstrably improve and they restart the cycle. While there are plenty of schools that are an exception to this evolution, the Inclusivity Index measurements encounter it frequently enough to note.

The three graphics above illustrate these changes over the 13-year period that comprises K – 12 education. The graphics display different types of parameters, the ratios of negative Overall and Sense of Belongingscores, and the percentage of students that identify as having a “Large Network of Friends,” a key grouping within the Social demographic. The data presented does not represent all the schools surveyed as it is a subset of schools that demonstrate these tendencies. Nonetheless, the schools presented all operate with model of Lower School as K – 4, Middle School as 5 – 12 and Upper School as 9 – 12.

• What is the difference between schools that show this tendency from those that do not?

• Does the same concept apply to students that change to a different academic entity around this grade distribution construct?

• Is there anything to note about the transition points schools used to separate “schools” in the fourth and eighth grade?

• Should schools concern themselves with these shifts and if so, how could they soften them?