High School Survey Finds That Students are Bored in Class

According to a new study, many high school students in the United States are bored in class and have considered dropping out. The High School Survey of Student Engagement, conducted by Indiana University, surveyed 81,000 students from 110 public and private schools. Seventy-five percent of participants attributed their boredom to a lack of interest in the material presented in class. The study also revealed that nearly a third of respondents had no interaction with their teacher. Ethan Yazzie-Mintz, the project's director suggested that student boredom stems from the teaching style used in the classroom and recommended interactive methods of teaching to engage students, such as discussion and debate instead of lectures. Another key finding was that 22 percent of the students surveyed have considered dropping out, and half said they have skipped school. Yazzie-Mintz stressed that students who miss school are more likely to consider dropping out.