2026 CNM & ENE Survey Domain and Construct Definitions
Domain: Student Success Skills
Collaboration
Collaboration represents students’ assessments of their collaboration skills, including the extent to which students report considering everyone’s ideas and sharing their own, paying attention when teammates talk, and helping their group solve problems.
Growth Mindset
Growth mindset represents the extent to which students believe that their abilities and skills can grow with effort. Students with a growth mindset see effort as necessary for success and embrace challenges (Dweck).
Professional Communication
Professional communication represents students’ perceptions of how well-prepared they feel to communicate verbally and in writing in a school or work environment, including by making a presentation and speaking in public.
Goal Setting
Goals setting represents the extent to which students report setting goals around their performance in school, knowing what they need to do to achieve their goals, and knowing whether they are on track to meet their goals.
Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy represents the extent to which students believe in their ability to achieve an outcome or reach a goal, including to overcome challenges and complete difficult tasks.
Social Awareness (ENE only)
Social awareness represents the extent to which students report they are respectful of others, they listen to other people’s points of view, and they get along with people different from themselves.
Domain: School Climate
Classroom Engagement Comfort Level
Classroom engagement comfort level represents students’ perceptions of their classroom environments, including the number of their classes in which they feel comfortable sharing their ideas, making mistakes, and asking questions when they do not understand something.
Sense of Belonging
Sense of belonging represents the extent to which students feel personally accepted, respected, and valued by others in their school community.
Student Teacher Relationships
Student-teacher relationships represents the extent to which students report positive relationships with the teachers at their school, including their perceptions that their teachers listen to them, care about them, and can be relied on for support.
Domain: Advising and Postsecondary Planning
Postsecondary Guidance
Postsecondary guidance represents the extent to which students believe their school has helped them understand what they want to do after high school and the steps they need to take to achieve this college/career plan, including considering the financial benefits of college and the financial aid options.
Postsecondary Plan Self-Efficacy
Postsecondary plan self-efficacy represents the extent to which students with a postsecondary plan express confidence in their plan, including believing they can achieve the plan, knowing how to do so, and feeling their plan is right for them.
On-track Knowledge (ENE only)
On-track knowledge represents the extent to which students report understanding what they need to do to graduate from high school, including how they are doing in their classes and what they need to do to improve their grades.
Domain: Instruction
Academic Rigor
Academic rigor represents students’ perceptions of how many of their classes include assignments that push them to deepen their thinking, demand critical thinking, require multiple drafts to strengthen their work, and challenge them to do their best.
Purpose
Purpose represents how relevant and purposeful students report their coursework to be, including how many of their classes provide learning experiences that are tied to their interests and goals and are connected to issues that are important to their community.
Competency-based Instruction (ENE only)
Competency-based instruction represents students’ perceptions of how often their teachers use competency-based practices such as providing expectations for how work will be assessed, examples of student work, feedback to help students improve their work, and multiple chances for them to succeed.