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Rhode Island School Health Data |
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Why should I care about School Health Data?
 Research shows that data-driven decision-making leads
to improved student outcomes. Data-driven decision making
is the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting
meaningful school improvement data and using it to guide
decisions about curriculum, instruction, teacher training, and
resource allocation to make a positive impact on student learning. Data must be aligned
and tied to student performance goals at the classroom, school, and district level.
Data can help school
leaders assess a myriad of student, family, and community health needs. The data help to
paint a broad picture of the school community, and can be used to initiate discussions
about health concerns locally.
 back to questions
What School Health Data are available?
Rhode Island Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey is an anonymous and voluntary survey conducted among random samples of high school students. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the YRBS to monitor risk
behaviors related to the major causes of mortality, disease, injury, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The survey includes questions on:
- Physical Activity,
- Nutrition and Weight,
- Sexual Activity,
- Alcohol and Other Drugs,
- Tobacco, and
- Injury.
In Rhode Island, the survey has been conducted bi-annually in high schools since 1997. The YRBS was also conducted in RI middle schools for the first time in 2007. Numerous studies have been conducted reaffirming the validity and reliability of YRBS results.
- Interactive Web-Based Data
The YRBS Web Query System is an interactive system that allows users to create custom tables and graphs of RI Youth Risk Behavior data. The system requires no sign-in or registration and allows users to obtain up-to-date information, view time trends, combine years in order to obtain stable estimates, and disaggregate data (e.g. by grade, age, sex, race/ethnicity).
Information Works!
Information Works! is the annual report on public education in Rhode Island. Information Works! consists of a set of school report cards, a set of district report cards, and the state report card. Information Works! includes data from a variety of sources. School health-related data include:
- School Accountability for Learning and Teaching (SALT) student survey data, including questions on alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, sleep, nutrition, physical activity, the school environment and climate, and more;
- Student, teacher, and parent SALT survey data on family involvement; and
- Suspension data.
General school health data are available at the statewide, district and school levels.
Please note that, as of the 2008-09 school year, the SALT survey is not being administered in Rhode Island.
To access the data, go to the Information Works! site.
- For a selection of key indicators:
- For statewide data:
- scroll down and click on any of the links under "SAFE AND SUPPORTIVE SCHOOLS" or "ENGAGING FAMILIES" on the left sidebar.
- For data for a district:
- click on District Report Cards,
- select a district, and
- click on any of the links under "Safe and Supportive Schools."
- For key health data for an individual school:
- click on School Report Cards,
- search for a school, and
- click on any of the links under "Safe and Supportive Schools" or "Engaging Families and Community."
- A set of data for all schools can also be downloaded here.
- For a complete and detailed list of SALT Survey data:
- Go to the Information Works! site;
- Click on SALT Survey Reports in the upper right-hand corner;
- Search for a school or district or select State of Rhode Island;
- Select a year;
- Select “Student Reports”; and
- Click on links to any of the charts.
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT is a children's policy and advocacy organization that provides information on child well-being, stimulates dialogue on children's issues, and promotes accountability and action. The Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook contains information for all 39 cities and towns as well as statewide data, tracking the progress on 60 indicators of child well-being across five subjects:
- Family and Community,
- Economic Well-Being,
- Health,
- Safety, and
- Education.
School Health Profiles
The School Health Profiles (Profiles) is a survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is administered in public middle and high schools every other year in Rhode Island by the RI Department of Education. Profiles tracks characteristics of, and trends in:
- Health education;
- Physical education;
- Asthma management;
- School policies related to HIV/AIDS prevention, tobacco-use prevention, violence prevention, physical activity, and nutrition;
- Food service; and
- Family and community involvement in school health programs.
Two questionnaires are used to collect data — one for school principals and one for lead health education teachers. Results are weighted and are representative of all regular public secondary schools in Rhode Island. A summary of key 2008 data is available. More detailed information is available for the principal survey and for the lead health educator survey.
Click here for a summary of key 2006 data iand detailed information for the 2006 principal survey and for the 2006 lead health educator survey.
School Health Policies and Program Study
The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) is a national survey periodically conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. SHPPS was most recently conducted in 2006.
SHPPS covers all eight school health program components:
- Health education,
- Physical education and activity,
- Health services,
- Mental health and social services,
- Nutrition services,
- Healthy and safe school environment,
- Faculty and staff health promotion, and
- Family and community involvement
It also covers crisis preparedness and response. The CDC site inlcudes
links to articles, fact sheets, state-level summaries, questionnaires, analytic data files and technical documentation, and archives of previous SHPPS studies.
Other RI Department of Health Data
The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) provides a large amount of data related to the health of children, teens and adults. Much of it is available on the Health Data and Statistics page of the HEALTH website. Data on specific health topics can be found on the pages for specific topics or programs at HEALTH, including:
- Physical Activity, Nutrition & Obesity,
- Diabetes,
- Tobacco,
- HIV/AIDS, STDs, and other communicable diseases,
- Injury (including violence, sexual violence, domestic violence, suicide, & unintentional injuries),
- Youth violence,
- Asthma,
- Lead poisoning,
- Disabilities,
- Immunization (KIDSNET), and
- Oral health.
Other RI Department of Education Data
The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) publishes most of its data on the Information Works! site. RIDE also provides other data on the RIDE Data page of the RIDE website, including:
National School Health Data
There are a great number of national school health and adolescent health data sources. Key resources include:
back to questions
Whom do I contact for more information?
Midge Sabatini, Ed.D.
Manager, Coordinated School Health Program
Rhode Island Department of Education
401-222-8952
Midge.Sabatini@ride.ri.gov
Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, Ed.D.
Program Manager, Initiative for Healthy Youth
Rhode Island Department of Health
401-222-5922
Rosemary.Reilly-Chammat@health.ri.gov
back to questions
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