Horatio Alger Association's State of Our Nation's Youth Survey Expands with New Partners, Polling Sample and Topics

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans will conduct the 11th State of Our Nation's Youth survey in the spring of 2012 with two research partners and a new poll design. The goal of the research project is to increase public understanding of the current educational, economic, social and political contexts for high school and college students.

The survey and subsequent report will be the first joint State of our Nation's Youth effort between two nationally renowned research firms. Peter D. Hart Research Associates, Inc., of Washington, D.C., a longtime partner of the Horatio Alger Association in conducting the youth report, is joining forces with NORC (formerly National Opinion Research Center) from the University of Chicago.

The association has shifted the parameters and redesigned the content of the survey to obtain information about the students' preparations for college and to capture the diverse changes in today's culture. The polling age range has been changed from ages 13 through 19 to ages 15 through 22, and the sample size is now 1,500 young people as opposed to 1,000.

"It's the mission of the association to continually invest in our nation's youth. This survey supports our goal to better understand today's young people and the most influential changes affecting them," said Terrence J. Giroux, executive director of the Horatio Alger Association. "We are proud to partner with NORC and Peter D. Hart Research Associates, and are confident the 2012 survey will be our most comprehensive to date."

The 2012 survey will examine several current events and issues related to students, including accessibility to college education and the recent growth of student loan debt. It will also examine the affordability of college, which has contributed to the decreasing number of students completing college. The project will also seek to address the multiple effects of social networking media and technology on today's youth. In addition, it will provide insights into the way politics will continue to be shaped by young people and how the media will be mastered and developed by the world's youth.

The association will host a press conference on August 7, 2012 to announce the survey results at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

The Horatio Alger Association is steadfast in its commitment to America's youth. Its network of field directors works with public, private and parochial school administrators as well as state departments of education throughout the country to share the State of Our Nation's Youth results across the U.S. and to market the Horatio Alger scholarship programs.

About the Horatio Alger Association:
Founded in 1947, the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans continues to fulfill its mission of honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals in our society who have succeeded in spite of adversity and of encouraging young people to pursue their dreams through higher education. The Horatio Alger Association offers three annual scholarship programs: the National Scholarship Program, state scholarship programs, and graduate grants. The association will have awarded more than $90 million in scholarships through 2012 to deserving young people determined to earn college degrees. The association is a Combined Federal Campaign participant; # 77062. For more information, please visit www.horatioalger.org   

SOURCE Horatio Alger Association