Chapter 10
Public Opinions About Education

Every year Phi Delta Kappa, the professional education fraternity, publishes a survey of the American public on education issues. This annual examination is considered one of the best measurements of current American attitudes toward education. Except where otherwise noted, the information in this chapter comes from "The 36th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools" (Lowell C. Rose and Alec M. Gallup, Phi Delta Kappan, September 2004).

Keep in mind that these are surveys of people's opinions and feelings about public education, which may or may not coincide with facts about the nation's schools. Instead, the survey results illustrate trends in current American thought on educational subjects.

BIGGEST PROBLEMS FACING LOCAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Since Phi Delta Kappa began surveying the public's opinions about education in 1969, discipline has been at or near the top of the list of concerns. According to the U.S. Department of Education, based on data from Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup, between 1969 and 1985 (with the exception of 1971, when the top issue was finances), discipline was the most frequently mentioned problem. Drug abuse by students replaced discipline as the top concern from 1986 through 1991, and in 1992 drugs tied with lack of proper financial support, at 22% each. In 1993 lack of proper financial support was clearly the number-one concern, with 21% mentioning it as the biggest concern for public schools in their communities. In 1994 lack of discipline tied with fighting/violence/gangs, and in 1995 lack of discipline was back on top. Drug abuse edged out discipline as the top concern of 1996. In 1998 and 1999 lack of discipline, violence in schools, and lack of financial support were the top three concerns. In 2000 the public identified two problems as top concerns: lack of financial support and lack of discipline. The same two concerns topped the poll in 2001 as well. Fighting/violence/gangs and overcrowded schools tied for second place in 2001. (See Table 10.1.) Figure 10.1 shows trends in the public's attitudes about specific problems in schools from 1980 to 2003.

In 2002 lack of financial support topped the list of the public's concerns, with lack of discipline and over-crowding tied for second place. The top two concerns in 2003 were lack of financial support and lack of discipline, with overcrowding coming in third. Again in 2004 lack of financial support was cited most often as the biggest problem facing public schools, with lack of discipline, and overcrowding tied for second place. (See Table 10.2.)

GRADING THE SCHOOLS

Every year the Phi Delta Kappa survey asks respondents to grade the public schools on the same scale used to grade students. In general, the survey has found for many years that the respondents' ties to local schools influence the way they rank them. For example, people generally give their children's schools a higher grade than the schools in the community as a whole, and local community schools are generally given higher grades than is the nation's school system as a whole. (See Table 10.3.)

Overall, the 2004 survey found that almost half (47%) of those surveyed believed the schools in their communities deserved an A or B grade. (See Table 10.4.) Most (61%) public school parents awarded an A or B grade to the public schools in their community. When asked to grade the school attended by their own oldest children, a majority (70%) of public school parents awarded an A or a B. (See Table 10.5.)

Respondents graded the American public school system as a whole much more harshly. Only 26% felt the nation's public schools, overall, deserved A or B grades, while 58% assigned grades of C or D. (See Table 10.6.)

SCHOOL REFORMS

Respondents were asked whether they preferred reforming the existing public schools or finding an alternative to the system. In 2004 nearly two-thirds (66%) said they favored reforming the existing system, while 26% preferred finding an alternative. (See Table 10.7.)

Two-thirds (66%) of respondents favored increasing the mandatory attendance age to eighteen as a way to deal with the school dropout problem (see Table 10.8), and nearly three-quarters opposed eliminating the senior year of high school so that students could get an earlier start on going to college or entering the workforce. (See Table 10.9.)

In 2004 nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents believed that it is not possible to accurately judge a student's proficiency in English and math on the basis of a single test. (See Table 10.10.) When respondents were asked whether they were concerned that relying on testing for English and math only to judge a school's performance would mean less emphasis on art, music, history, and other subjects, the majority (81%) responded that they were concerned a great deal or a fair amount. (See Table 10.11.)

Respondents were asked whether they thought an increased emphasis on English, math, and science at all grade levels would serve all, most, some, or only a few public school students in the community. The responses were about evenly divided between all, most, and some, with 29% believing that the increased emphasis would serve all students, 32% believing that the increased emphasis would serve most students, and 28% believing that the increased emphasis would serve some students. Only 9% of the public believed that the increased emphasis on English, math, and science at all grade levels would serve only a few students. (See Table 10.12.)

STUDENT FAILURE

In 2004 survey respondents were asked who is most important in determining how well or how poorly students perform in school. Nearly one-half (45%) believed that students' parents are the most important determinant, while 30% cited students' teachers and 22% cited the students themselves. (See Table 10.13.)

In 2004 more than half (55%) of respondents whose children were failing would prefer tutoring provided by teachers in their child's school, and two-fifths (40%) would favor tutoring provided by an outside agency. (See Table 10.14.)

THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

In 2004 the public was asked several questions related to the academic achievement gap that exists between white and minority students. More than three-quarters (78%) of respondents believed that minority children had the same educational opportunities as white children in their communities in 2004 (see Table 10.15). Seventy-four percent responded that the achievement gap between white and minority students is related mostly to other factors, not to the quality of schooling (see Table 10.16). When asked how important it is to close this gap between groups of students, 64% responded that it is very important to close the gap (see Table 10.17), and more than half (56%) responded that it is the responsibility of the public schools to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. (See Table 10.18.)

When asked about various proposals to close the achievement gap between white and minority children, in 2004 the public strongly favored encouraging parental involvement (97%), providing more instructional time for low performing students (94%), and strengthening remedial programs (92%). Providing free breakfast and free lunch programs (84%), providing state-funded preschool programs (80%), and providing in-school health clinics (76%) were also supported by the majority of respondents. (See Table 10.19.)