On Wednesday, April 16th, all Choate fifth-formers had to complete a health survey given by the Health Center. This anonymous survey, which consisted of 82 questions, was administered at the Humanities Writing Center.
According to Dr. Benjamin Gardner, the main point of this annual health survey is to compare and contrast the behavioral differences of over juniors over time. The survey design is based upon the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which is formulated by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Dr. Gardner first took interest in having such a survey eight years ago when he “looked at a lot of national surveys and finally picked the one from the CDC.”
The survey is administered twice a year: once in the fall to new third- and fourth-form students and once in the spring to fifth-formers. The bluntness of the survey, which asks direct questions about a student’s drug experience and sex life, causes some students to feel uncomfortable. “That is why this survey is anonymous—I can’t stress that enough,” says Dr. Gardner. He compares the numbers generated by these surveys to the national average of the appropriate age group. “We will not compare our juniors with California freshmen—we only compare the national average against our own,” explains Dr. Gardner. He adds that he will start organizing and analyzing the data obtained from this survey and then post the results in May.
“Choate has, over the last seven years, been comparable: rarely below national averages, if not higher,” said Dr. Gardner. He explains that he understands that peer pressure can push teenagers toward alcohol or drugs: “In their age, it is sometimes understandable to do things….” Even so, Dr. Gardner worries about this issue of underage drinking as it plagues not only the school but the nation as well: “I still worry about teenagers drinking too much alcohol at too young an age—that would most definitely cause many problems.”
Beyond checking the approximate relative behavior of Choate juniors, the survey has another purpose: it helps the school adjust educational programs to the year’s data. “When we see that the numbers are worse, we will look at the entire school and make plans to teach students to avoid those materials at such a young age, and raise awareness about dangers,” says Dr. Gardner. “So when we have better averages, we don’t have to worry.”
Some juniors, however, question the overall usefulness of the survey. Rick Song ’09 opines, “The survey was useless, I thought. And because it was all multiple choice, all we wanted to do was to get out of there as soon as possible, so a lot of people just guessed and clicked random answers.”
