Americans Speak Out — Are Educators and Policy Makers Listening?

Abstract

PARENTS, educators, political leaders--all Americans need the information contained in the next few pages. But why this poll? First, it's not just a quick snapshot of perception. Rather, it is a serious research tool, conducted annually, that allows PDK members and other educators and policy makers to track opinion from one year to the next. And second, this poll is not meant to advocate. It is an honest, straightforward account of how Americans perceive their schools and the learning that takes place within those walls. Who decides what questions to include in this poll? In March 2008, a group of prominent educational leaders (see page 20) met to identify the issues and topics for this year's poll: * Election year politics and policies; * School quality; * Global education comparisons; * National education standards; * High school to college transitions; * Student testing and the curriculum; * Teacher quality and teaching incentives; and * No Child Left Behind legislation. We encourage you to thoroughly review each question, consider the responses, and then form your own conclusions on how to use this information. Through this candid review, we hope you will have a better understanding of which current educational practices should continue and an even clearer understanding of which practices must change. POLITICS AND POLICY: WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF ELECTION YEAR POLITICS ON PUBLIC EDUCATION? Coinciding with the presidential election, we queried Americans about their perceptions of how the two major party presidential candidates stack up on education issues. In addition, we asked other important policy questions dealing with vouchers, charter schools, financing education, local control, and changes to the No Child Left Behind legislation. * FINDINGS * Americans view Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama as much more supportive of schools than Republican presidential candidate John McCain. This is in stark contrast to American's perceptions in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections where Republican and Democratic presidential candidates were viewed as equally supportive of schools. Americans also trust Sen. Obama to do a better job addressing a variety of education issues from parental choice, to closing the achievement gap, to funding schools. * Americans believe the next president should turn to education leaders--not political or business leaders--in developing policies for schools. * Americans support an increased use of federal funds to maintain local schools. * Fewer than 2 of 10 Americans believe the No Child Left Behind legislation should be continued without significant change. * Americans are more supportive of school vouchers than they have been in recent years but are less favorable toward charter schools, ending a five-year trend of increased support for these alternative schools. Republicans favor vouchers much more than do Democrats. However, Democrats and Republicans favor charter schools at about the same levels. COMMENTARY PUBLIC WANTS REFORMS Ignoring the election-year stuff that journalists will surely focus on, I'm most struck by five revelations in these data: Though parents still give high marks to their own kids' schools, Americans plainly sense that not all is well with the nation's K-12 system. Hence, the middling-to-low grades for public schools in the nation as a whole and the widespread awareness that schools in other lands are doing better. The is receptive to, often eager for, a host of reforms that educators view with alarm and politicians with apprehension. These include national academic standards, national teacher testing, differentiated pay, and both charter schools and vouchers. People still know little about NCLB and are wary of its renewal, yet when it's deconstructed into key elements such as standards and testing, most people like them fine and even want more of them! …