Student engagement refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, motivation, and effort students bring to learning. It encompasses three dimensions: behavioral engagement (attendance, participation, effort), emotional engagement (interest, enthusiasm, sense of belonging), and cognitive engagement (investment in understanding, willingness to tackle challenges).

Highly engaged students attend regularly, participate actively in class, complete assignments thoughtfully, seek help when struggling, and persist through challenges. Disengaged students go through the motions, avoid participation, complete work minimally, and give up easily when frustrated. Research consistently shows engagement as one of the strongest predictors of academic achievement—more so than demographic factors or prior achievement in many studies.

Engagement connects directly to school climate and belonging. Students who feel safe, supported, and valued engage more readily. Those who feel disconnected, unsafe, or that school is irrelevant disengage. Importantly, engagement fluctuates—students highly engaged in elementary school can disengage in middle school if climate deteriorates or relevance decreases.

For charter and private schools, engagement serves as both academic indicator and retention predictor. Students who report declining engagement across multiple pulse surveys are candidates for intervention before academic performance drops or families consider withdrawal. Measuring engagement continuously through questions like "How engaged have you felt in classes lately?" enables proactive support.