Boring Study

Data from the 2007 and 2008 High School Survey of Student Engagement

Pervasiveness of Boredom in School
* Two out of three respondents (67% in each year) are bored at least every day in class in high school.
* Approximately half of the students (51% in 2007, 50% in 2008) are bored every day.
* Approximately one out of every six students (16% in 2007, 17% in 2008) are bored in every class.
* Only 2% in each year report never being bored

Reasons Why School Is Boring
* More than four out of five cited a reason for their boredom as "Material wasn't interesting" (83% in 2007, 82% in 2008).
* About two out of five students (41% in each year) claimed that the lack of relevance of the material caused their boredom.
* About one-third of the students (33% in 2007, 32% in 2008) were bored because "Work wasn't challenging enough."
* Just over one-fourth (27% in each year) of respondents were bored because "Work was too difficult."
* More than one-third of respondents (35% in each year) were bored due to "No interaction with teacher."

Perceived Impact of School on Future Success
Not more than one-third of the students reported that their school contributed "Very Much" to their growth in the following areas related to rigor and relevance:

* "Acquiring skills related to work after high school" (23% in 2007, 24% in 2008)
* "Writing effectively" (31% in 2007, 30% in 2008)
* "Speaking effectively" (27% in each year)
* "Thinking critically" (32% in each year)
* "Reading and understanding challenging materials" (28% in each year)
* "Learning independently" (28% in 2007, 30% in 2008)
* "Solving real-world problems" (20% in 2007, 21% in 2008)

Source: Adapted from Yazzie-Mintz, E. (2009). Engaging the voices of students: A report on the 2007 and 2008 high school survey of student engagement (pp. 5–8). Bloomington, IN: Center for Evaluation and Education Policy, Indiana University. http://indiana.edu/nceep/hssse/images/hssse_2009_report.pdf