Data FAQ
The Comparative Dataset
Q: What is YouthTruth’s national comparative dataset?
A: Since YouthTruth partners with schools nationally, our dataset includes information from schools across the country. This allows comparisons across districts or schools by grade level or respondent audience (e.g. high school staff data is compared to data from other high school staff, elementary student data is compared to data from other elementary students). Every YouthTruth partner over the last ten years is included in the comparative dataset. Each time a school surveys, their previous data in the comparative dataset is replaced with the new results. To view the total number of schools in the comparative dataset, refer to the report Appendix.
Q: Who is included in the national comparison?
A: YouthTruth largely partners with public schools in the United States. As of 2026, the dataset includes schools from the District of Columbia and the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Likert Questions
Q: The majority of YouthTruth survey questions are Likert questions. What are Likert questions?
A: Likert questions ask respondents to rate their agreement or attitudes toward a given subject on a scale. They go beyond yes or no questions to measure level of agreement, frequency, and more.
Q: Why does YouthTruth use a 3-point Likert scale for elementary school student surveys and a 5-point Likert scale for all other surveys ?
A: The 3-point scale is best practice for elementary-aged respondents because it reduces cognitive load and improves comprehension, increasing data validity. The 5-point scale is used in all other surveys to provide more nuanced answer options and results.
Q: Why does the survey offer a neutral option?
A: The neutral option prevents bias by allowing respondents who genuinely feel neutral to answer honestly. This increases data accuracy and decreases the number of respondents who drop-off, or do not complete the survey. Respondents can also choose to skip questions at any time. Response counts by question are listed in the report Appendix.
Data Visualizations
Q: Why are there so many different types of charts in my report?
A: Most questions in the survey are asked on a 5-point or 3-point scale. Data from each question is visualized in three chart types that each offer a different level of detail and are useful for distinct purposes. For example, percent positives are easily quoted or reported to outside audiences, response distributions provide detailed information about specific questions, and percentile charts enable comparison to other schools nationally.
Q: What is the difference between percentile rating, percent positive, and response distributions?
Percentile Rating. In school reports, the percentile rating is a school’s average rating on a question relative to the results of other schools in YouthTruth’s national comparative dataset. In district reports, the percentile rating compares the average rating of the median school in the district.
Percent Positive. The percentage of students who answer 4 or 5 on a five-point scale or, in the case of elementary school student surveys, a 3 on a three-point scale.
Response Distribution. A breakdown of each response to a question. For example, the number of respondents who selected “Disagree,” “Neither agree nor disagree,” or “Agree.”
Q: How is the percentile rating calculated?
A: The average rating of a question answered in the survey is compared to other schools within the comparative dataset. The percentile represents the percentage of schools that fall at or below your average rating for that question.
Q: Why did my percentile rating change from last year?
A: The comparative dataset is updated throughout the year as schools across the country survey, so your rating is adjusted to the updated comparative dataset.
Q: Why is percent positive high but percentile rating low?
A: Some questions report very positive results consistently across schools. This leads to high percent positives even though the percentile, or comparison to other schools, may not be as high. For example, the median high school has an average of 4.11 out of 5 for the question “How many of your teachers believe that you can get a good grade if you try?” A school that rated 3.99 on this question, which is still high and would yield a high percent positive, would fall around the 31st percentile in comparison to other schools.
Demographic Breakdowns
Q: Why don’t I see some demographic subgroups?
A: We do not show demographic subgroups with fewer than 5 responses to protect anonymity.
Q: Is there trend data for demographic subgroups?
A: To reduce the length of reports, subgroup trend data is not shown. However, you can compare past subgroup responses by reviewing reports from previous years.
Q: Can I compare the cross section of respondents who fall into two subgroups, for example Latina girls?
A: To protect anonymity, reports generally do not allow comparison of combinations of more than one subgroup at once. Our reports do offer comparisons of grade level and gender, which show all demographic groups with at least 5 responses.
Q: Why are the displayed demographic averages all higher or lower than the overall average?
A: YouthTruth percentile charts do not show “I don’t know” and “Prefer not to say” as demographic subgroups because they do not reflect a demographic. Additionally, subgroups with fewer than 5 responses are not shown to protect anonymity. Demographic averages may all be higher or lower than the overall average because some respondents are not included in the displayed demographic groups.
Q: How many respondents are in each demographic subgroup?
The numbers and proportion of respondents in each demographic group can be found in the “Respondent Demographic Information” section of the report appendix.
General Questions
Q: Where can I find my overall response rate?
A: Response rates can be found in the Appendix section of the report under the subsection “Overall Response Rate.”
Q: Can I compare responses across students, families, and staff?
A: Our surveys were designed to ask questions appropriate for each audience, so questions are tailored by grade level and population. However, surveys do explore similar themes, which can be compared across families, staff, and different student levels.
Q: What if students just select the same answer for every question?
A: Our analyses show that very few respondents straightline, or answer the same choice for every question. A minor portion of students answer “I don’t know” or “prefer not to say” for all demographic questions. Our analyses estimate that between 1% and 5% of respondents either straightline or answer “I don’t know” or “Prefer not to say” for all demographic questions.
About the YouthTruth Survey
Q: How did YouthTruth develop the survey?
A: In 2008, the YouthTruth survey was developed through a comprehensive review of research on student surveys. Some questions were developed by YouthTruth , while others draw, with permission, from other well‐validated survey instruments in the field, including the Chicago Consortium on School Research’s “My School, My Voice” and Indiana University’s School of Education’s “Survey of Engagement.” The survey was refined by an advisory group that included survey design experts, educators, district administrators, school leaders, university researchers, students, public officials, foundation staff, and non‐profit leaders. YouthTruth reviews the survey on an annual basis and makes continuous improvements based on feedback and emerging best practices. We also introduce a new additional topic each academic year to address pressing issues in education. Every two years, we revalidate the survey’s reliability to ensure it remains effective.
Q: How were the questions for each theme selected?
A: To develop YouthTruth’s core survey questions, we piloted an initial pool of questions with more than 5,000 students in 20 schools. Using principal factor analysis with oblique rotation, themes emerged from actual response patterns, rather than imposing categories in advance. A confirmatory analysis of these themes is re-run every two years and has shown consistent results since 2009, confirming the constructs are stable rather than an artifact of a particular sample. We also verify each theme using Cronbach’s alpha, ensuring that grouped questions measure one shared construct rather than several unrelated ideas. Item wording is shaped by developmental appropriateness: questions are written below grade-level reading difficulty using Flesch-Kincaid scores and avoid negatively worded phrasing that might confuse younger respondents. We ask students about personal experiences rather than how they view their peers’ experiences and frame questions neutrally to minimize social-desirability bias.