MAKING THE GRADE
Research finds commonalities across successful schools
Education matters. It’s not only that knowledge is power and higher learning can bring in a higher income. Making good educational choices can increase a child’s odds of achieving a good life with better health and well-being, according to research experts at Gallup.
“Gallup’s research on college alumni has uncovered strong links between campus experiences and post-graduation outcomes,” said Brandon Busteed, Gallup executive director of education and workforce development. “A college education with strong student-professor relationships and rich opportunities to apply what’s taught in the lecture hall to real-world scenarios doesn’t just enhance workforce outcomes; it also boosts personal well-being.”
The annual Gallup-Purdue Index study of college alumni from institutions around the country has found that people who have three key types of relationships in college are nearly twice as likely to have high well-being described as “thriving”: a mentor who encourages them to pursue their hopes and dreams, a professor who cares about them as a person, and a professor who makes them excited about learning.
“Similarly, students who have three key opportunities to apply their learning are nearly one-anda-half times as likely to be thriving in all areas of their well-being: an internship or job relevant to what they are studying, a long-term project that takes a semester or more to complete, and a busy extracurricular schedule,” Busteed said.
Look beyond test scores
“As a parent looking for the best opportunities for your child to learn and grow, it’s tempting to only focus on graduation rates, standardized test scores and the physical resources of the school and its surroundings. These can each certainly be key factors, but it’s important to look deeper into the qualities of the school’s identity and culture,” said Jon Burt, Gallup executive director of K-12 news and surveys.
Some of the questions parents should ask about a school include:
• What is its mission, its promise to the community?
• Does that fit your values?
• Is the school known for living up to its word?
• What is the emotional connection of parents and families to the school’s leadership, and how do students feel about their relationships with their teachers and classmates?
• Is school an experience students are always looking forward to and eager to discuss, or is it a place they are indifferent about or looking to avoid altogether?
“When looking for the best fit for your child it’s important for parents and families to recall that all student growth and performance is rooted in the culture in which they learn,” Burt said.
The value of experience
“It’s important for families to realize that colleges and universities provide their greatest value through the experiences, opportunities and sense of emotional attachment they offer students, not just things like endowment size or average SAT score,” Busteed said.
On college visits, parents and students should ask about things such as what kind of help is available in the career services office. Will it help a student find a job or internship during or after college? What are the teaching styles of professors across campus or the types of extracurricular opportunities available?
“Keep in mind some of the most important campus experiences in our research come down to culture, those harder-to-define things you can feel about a campus but can’t easily articulate,” Busteed said. “Gallup visits all types of postsecondary institutions, and we know when we set foot on campus whether students, faculty and staff feel energized and attached to their community. When they do, the campus has an electric energy that fosters relationships and propels students to seek out new learning experiences. When visiting colleges, parents and students should take some time to soak in the atmosphere and get a feel for what it would be like to spend four years there.”