A recently completed survey of “risky student behavior” focuses on physical and mental health, as well as what vices are common, among students in the Issaquah School District — and shows how it stacks up against the rest of the state.

The biennual Healthy Youth Survey was annonymously administered to sixth-, eighth-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students in October.

Isaquah has its wins and losses. According to the survey, more than 90 percent of students across grade levels feel safe at school and find opportunities for participation.

However, substance use increases significantly over the years — a trend that has shown up in previous surveys.

“That is a cause for concern,” said Susan Canaga, Issaquah School District director of carreer and counceling services. “So we’re looking at that data, and anakyzing it, and coming up with different strategies.”

The survey questions gleaned information about safety and violence, drug and alcohol use, physical activity and diet, and emotional well-being.

In many areas, the Issaquah School District fell well-below state averages, and at most, about matched them.

Regarding alcohol use, for instance, between 21 and 71 percent of students who responded reported trying alcohol at some time, compared to the state results of between 29 and 72 percent.

Between one and 39 percent of Issaquah students reported trying marijuana, compared to between three and 45 percent of students across the state.

In most cases, the sharpest differences between the district and state were at the sixth-grade level; the closest were at 12th grade.

Canaga attributed a lot of this performance to parent involvement and resources available.

“Overall, I think we have a very strong parent community,” Canaga said. “It’s a community where parents are engaged with their kids, where we can create safe school environments, and provide strong curriculum and services to kids.”

As a result of past surveys, the district has organized parent information seminars, on topics such as depression, drugs and alcohol, and internet bullying.

Participation in the survey also makes the district eligible for grants pay for prevention and intervention services, Canaga said.

Surveys were mailed home to students, but the option to opt out was available.

Because of that option, test administrators were required to note the percentage of response, and check the validity of a student’s answers to make sure the surveys were as accurate as possible.

“If it looks like a kid went through and put B, B, B, B to every question, or conflicted themselves later, those results were thrown out,” Canaga said.

The district’s Safe and Drug Free Schools Advisory Committee will be analyzing the results of the survey, and hopefully release new strategies by the end of the school year, Canaga said.

View the results of the survey at www.issaquah.wednet.edu.