Submitted by Meghan Keaney A... on Mon, 03/02/2009 - 10:32am.
This is the Youth Wiki page. Any staff member can add a new stat to this collection or remove a stat that is no longer current/accurate. Just log in and contribute. Please stick to the format below with regards to the date and source of the stat. If you do not have a source, the stat will be removed (unless United Way is the original source). By following the format and keeping the stats in chronological order (most recent within each category at the top) we can keep this page easy-to-search. Thanks for helping!
Youth and Education
2009: About one in 14 students was suspended from school at least once in 2006 because of disciplinary problems, according to the report. That's about 3.3 million students nationwide. Most of the students suspended (2.3 million) for disciplinary problems were boys. [Secondary Source] [Original Source]
2009: The percentage of students from kindergarten through eighth grade who have had to repeat a year of school has been relatively steady for the past decade, hovering from 9 to 11 percent. [Secondary Source] [Original Source]
2009: Across the country, about 2.6 million students in the class of 2006 graduated after four years of high school. That's an average on-time graduation rate of 73.2 percent. The rate was highest in Wisconsin (87.5 percent). (National Stat) [Secondary Source] [Original Source]
2008: Massachusetts' ranking on child well-being moves up to 3rd best in the country. [source]
Adult Guidance / Mentoring / Family Involvement
2009: In 2007, nearly 90 percent of school parents reported that they attended a school or PTA meeting. Nearly 80 percent of parents said they went to parent-teacher conferences, and about three-quarters said they attended a school or class event in their child's school. (National Stat) [Secondary Source] [Original Source]
2009: About 85 percent of students who did homework had their work checked by an adult at home. Black students from kindergarten through eighth grade were the most likely to have a parent or another adult check their work (98 percent). (National Stat)[Secondary Source] [Original Source]
2009: Parents in low-income families were less likely to participate in school activities. About 58 percent of parents of elementary and middle school children from middle- or upper-class homes reported they volunteered on a school committee, compared with 32 percent those from low-income families. (National Stat) [Secondary Source] [Original Source]
2008 May: Since 2001, there have been significant increases in the percentage of students reporting there was at least one teacher or adult in their school they could talk to if they had a problem (65% vs. 69%), and there was at least one parent or adult family member they could talk to about things that are important (76% vs. 84%). [Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: In 2007, 45% of high school students reported that in the previous 12 months they had felt the need to talk to someone other than a family member regarding their feelings and/or current issues in their lives. A larger proportion of females than males reported feeling a need to talk to someone other than family member (59% vs. 31%).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
Gender Related Stats:
2008 May: Female students were more likely than male students to report having a teacher or another adult in school with whom they could talk about a problem (74% vs. 65%) and to report participating in volunteer work in the last month (50% vs. 41%).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: A significantly larger percentage of males reported having their first drink of alcohol before the age of 13 compared to females (23% vs. 16%).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: Male students were more likely than female students to report the recommended amount of physical activity in a given day(50% vs. 32%).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: A significantly greater proportion of Massachusetts Middle School girls compared with boys reported feeling depressed (20% vs. 13%) and of feeling the need to talk to an adult outside their family (40% vs. 25%).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
Youth and Health
2009 March: According to official figures, the Department of Children and Families recorded more than 23,000 cases of reported abuse and neglect of children last year -- the highest total the state has seen in at least five years.[Source]
2008 May: The percentage of middle school students who reported lifetime use of alcohol more than doubles between 6th grade (15%) and 8th grade (34%). The largest increase occurs from 7th grade to 8th grade.[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: Among middle school students above the age of 13 who drank, the largest proportion reported having their first drink between the ages of 13 and 14 years.[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: Twenty-seven percent (27%) of high school students reported being offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property during the previous 12 months. A significantly larger percentage of males reported this than females (31% and 23%, respectively).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: Nearly one half of surveyed Mass Youth (46%) reported that they were trying to lose weight.[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008: The percentage of low-birthweight in babies in Massachusetts increased by 11%, from 7.1% in 2000 to 7.9% in 2005. Massachusetts ranks 20th in the nation on this indicator. [source]
Youth and Poverty:
2008: Despite Massachusetts' high per capita income, there are still 178,000 or 12% of its children living in poverty, with 82,000 living in extreme poverty. [source]
2007: A long term study by Cornell University found a direct link between poverty and stress in youth. Students' blood pressure and stress hormones were measured at 9 and 13 years old. At 17, their memory was tested. Given a sequence of items to remember‚ teenagers who grew up in poverty remembered an average of 8.5 items. Those who were well-off during childhood remembered an average of 9.44 items. [source]
2003: More than 74% of Boston public school students qualified for the city’s free or reduced price lunch program in 2004-2005, indicating a high rate of poverty among the families of Boston’s school children. [source]
2002: In Massachusetts, children under 19 years of age were numbered at 1,502,000 as the result of a three-year average of 2000, 2001, and 2002 figures. Of that number, 458,000, or 30.5% were considered at or below 200% of poverty. 40,000 were reported as being at that level and without health insurance. [source]
Youth and Violence:
2008 September: The number of shooting victims 17 years and younger, fatal and nonfatal in the City of Boston has nearly tripled over the last half-decade, from 23 in 2002 to 67 in 2007.[Source: Original source, city crime stats BPD]
2008 May: Fourteen percent (14%) of Massachusetts high school students reported that they had bullied or pushed someone around during the previous 12 months. The percentage of boys who reported this sort of behavior was twice that of girls (18% vs. 9%).[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: Overall, 12% of Massachusetts middle school students reported being physically hurt by a family member in the previous 12 months.[Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008 May: The percentage of high school students who reported having been threatened or injured with a weapon at school in the past year significantly decreased from 8% in 2001 to 5% in 2007. Male students were more than two times more likely than female students (8% vs. 3%) to report this. [Source: 2007 Survey of Massachusetts Youth]
2008: The child death rate decreased by 33%, dropping from 15 deaths per 100,000 children ages 1-14 in 2000 to 10 deaths per 100,000 children in 2005. Massachusetts ranks 2nd in the nation on this indicator. [source]
United Way and Youth
2008: United Way served 143,821 youth in high quality afterschool and out-of-school time programs. Of these, over 13,000 are high risk youth.
2008: United Way helped more than 100 out-of-school-time program sites use research-based tools to measure youth outcomes. Using these tools helps analyze the strengths and weaknesses of staff, provides a platform for improving program outcomes for youth and helps programs build better partnerships to better serve the needs of youth.
2008: Nearly 700 staff from youth serving programs received close to 14,500 hours of training in courses addressing the social-emotional well being of youth or relationship building skills.
2008: 63 out-of-school-time program sites demonstrated effective connections with schools. Research shows that youth demonstrate better outcomes when there is good communication and coordination between schools and out-of-school time programs.
2008: Nearly 6,000 youth were engaged in one-to-one or group mentoring relationships, over which over 60% of the matches lasted for one or more years. Research confirms that the most important protective factor for keeping youth healthy and progressing toward success is the presence of supportive, caring adults.
Out of Harm's Way
2008: The final grade point average (GPA) for the targeted group of Out of Harm's Way students significantly improved from 1.33 to 1.63.
2008: At both schools there was a significant drop in the number of students being bullied (18% drop and 21% drop respectfully).
2008: At both schools there was a drop in the number of students being suspended (12% drop and 3% drop respectfully).
2008:Additionally, staff participating in training reported:
- A decrease in the level of aggression, bullying and violence in the school compared to the beginning of the school year
- Improved abilities to address the needs of students who experience difficulties with self-control, aggressive behavior, or have experienced trauma had improved over the school year
- Belief that their skill gains could be transferred to other staff in the building
