Iowa Youth Survey

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Iowa Youth Survey (IYS)
Iowa Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS)
Iowa School Health Profiles

Iowa Youth Survey (IYS)

Every two years, the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) partners with Iowa school districts to administer the Iowa Youth Survey (IYS). The IYS is an important source of data on adolescent health behaviors and experiences. For decades, Iowa schools and parents have supported participation in the IYS. Hundreds of thousands of Iowa adolescents have shared information on their health-related experiences.

Data collected through the IYS may be used to inform health-related lesson planning, increase adult-student connections, and prevent outcomes like dropout, while promoting outcomes such as success in academics, graduation, and post-secondary outcomes.

The 2025 Iowa Youth Survey will be administered Fall 2025. School districts will be receiving information in early 2025.

General FAQS

How long will the survey take?

Survey length will depend on each student. We estimate it will take about 20 minutes, on average, to complete the survey.

What questions are asked?

Topics included in the Iowa Youth Survey include: nutrition and exercise, beliefs and attitudes (including having a support system), substance use, mental health, extracurricular activities and volunteering, safety and bullying experiences. Your child will NOT be asked their name, date of birth, or any identifying information.

Is instructional time required for survey administration?

No, instructional time is not a requirement of participation. School districts may choose to provide the survey on a date and time that work best for their students and district, given the survey is administered between September 15 and November 10, 2025.

How is the data used?

Allowing your students to participate ensures their voices are heard by their district, community, and state as data-driven decisions are made to support student needs and experiences.

When will results be available?

We anticipate sharing IYS survey results in Spring 2026.

FAQ for Parents

Why should my student participate?

IYS collects youth-reported data on health behaviors and experiences. This information helps schools, communities, and state agencies improve the well-being and outcomes of Iowa's youth. Allowing your child to participate helps us understand strengths and opportunities for health-related student experiences.

How do I register my student to participate?

Parents of 6th, 8th, and 11th graders in participating districts should contact their school district directly for information on student survey registration. See below for information on active parental consent.

FAQ for Schools

Is the IYS required or optional?

While school districts are not required to participate in the Iowa Youth Survey, district-level participation is highly encouraged. Many of the topics asked of students in the IYS are unique to this survey – meaning, this is the only opportunity for your district’s students to share their health-related needs, behaviors, and experiences. Our hope is that schools will choose to participate in an effort to understand both strengths and opportunities for health-related student experiences. All districts will receive an email in the coming months from the State of Iowa with more information and a link to indicate their participation decision.

When will the survey be administered?

Participating schools are asked to administer the survey to students between September 15 and November 10. Schools may pick a date and time that works best for them.

Is active parental consent required?

Yes, parents must consent for their children to participate in the Iowa Youth Survey. Participating schools districts will provide parents with additional information and a consent form.

Iowa Area Education Agencies (AEAs) are regional service agencies, which provide school improvement services for students, families, teachers, administrators and their communities. This includes planning and programming in the areas of safe, healthy, and caring learning environments. At the time of the administration of the 2008 Iowa Youth Survey, there were 10 AEAs.

The AEA reports are designed to help planners identify youth development-related needs, develop relevant programs, and assess the outcomes of those programs. These data can help you better understand the young people residing in your area and their needs. They can also help you assess the strengths and weaknesses of the schools, families, and communities in your area from the student’s perspective.

Given that 11th graders are much more likely to be substance abusers than either 6th or 8th graders, any significant discrepancy between the proportion of 11th grade students and the other grades who took part in the youth surveys would produce a distorted total estimate for that service area (i.e., a larger proportion of 11th graders and a smaller proportion of 6th and 8th graders would produce an artificially high total substance use estimate in that service area). To reduce this bias, statistical weighting procedures were used. Please refer to each report for a description of the weighting procedure used in that survey year.

Area Education Agency (AEA) Youth Survey Reports:

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Keystone AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Prairie Lakes AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Mississippi Bend AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Grant Wood AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Heartland AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Northwest AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Green Hills AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Great Prairie AEA Results

2021 Iowa Youth Survey - Central River AEA Results

All Area Education Agency (AEA) Youth Survey Reports can be found on the Iowa Publications Online website.