The American public still stands behind their public schools and their local school board according to The 39th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward Public Schools. The majority of the public rate their local public school with an A or B. They also prefer that local school boards have the greatest influence in deciding what is taught in public schools.
In addition to how Americans feel about public schools, the poll placed a significant focus on the public's perceptions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Here, it found the public split on whether the law was helping or hurting schools. As the public's knowledge of the law grows, it views the law less favorably. However, almost half of the public admits that they know very little about NCLB.
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The Findings
How does the public feel about the effectiveness of public schools?
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Almost half (45 percent) of the public give pubic schools in their community an A or B, while only 19 percent give their schools a D or failing mark. However, the public's view of schools other than their own is not as positive. While 16 percent give the nation's public schools an A or B, 23 percent give them a D or failing grade.
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More people are informed now about their public schools than they were twenty-four years ago. Eighty-three percent say they know at least "some" about their public schools compared to just 64 percent in 1983.
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As has been the case since 2004, the public rated lack of financial support as the number one problem facing their public schools (22 percent). This is more than double the percentage that ranked lack of discipline as the number one problem (cited by 10 percent of respondents).
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How does the public feel about changing public schools?
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The vast majority of people (72 percent) believe that the focus on school improvement should be on reforming the existing system rather than finding an alternative system.
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Since the implementation of NCLB in 2002, opposition to government tuition subsidies (also known as vouchers) has increased from 54 percent to 58 percent. However, the opposition grows to two-thirds when asked about vouchers covering the full cost of tuition for students in non-public schools.
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The public appears to be more open to the idea of charter schools now than in 2000. A clear majority—60 percent—favor them. This is an increase from 42 percent in 2000.
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Although the number has been steadily declining since 1980, more people (49 percent) believe that local school boards should have the greatest influence in deciding what is taught in public schools than the federal government (20 percent) or the state government (31 percent). Furthermore, a majority also reject private companies running public schools (66 percent) or mayoral take-over of schools (59 percent).
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What is the public's view of No Child Left Behind (NCLB)?
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A slight majority (54 percent) of the public claim to know at least a fair amount about NCLB, while just under half (46 percent) say they know very little or nothing at all about the law. However, more public school parents (65 percent) claim to know at least a fair amount.
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A greater percentage of people have an unfavorable view of NCLB than favorable (40 percent and 31 percent, respectively). Of the people that claim to know at least a fair amount, 55 percent view the law unfavorably, while 38 percent view it favorably.
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The public is split on whether they believe NCLB is hurting or helping local public schools (27 percent and 26 percent, respectively), while 41 percent feel it is making no difference. Of those who know at least a fair amount, the percent saying the law is hurting schools increases to 37 percent.
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Two-thirds of the public feel it is at least "somewhat likely" that their local public schools will get 100 percent of their students to proficiency by 2013-2014 as NCLB requires.
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The vast majority (82 percent) of the public would prefer that schools be judged by growth in students' achievement rather than by the simple percent of students who score at or above proficiency on their state assessment.
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How does the public feel about standardized testing?
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The public is split evenly on whether they believe standardized tests help or hurt the performance of their local schools (28 percent each). However, 42 percent do not believe they have made any difference.
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A growing number of people feel there is too much emphasis on achievement testing. In 2002, 31 percent felt there was too much emphasis. In 2007, the number has grown to 43 percent. For parents of public school children, the disparity is even greater. In 2002, 32 percent felt there was too much emphasis on achievement testing, but in 2007, the number has climbed to 52 percent.
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Cautions about the data
When interpreting the results from this survey it is important to keep in mind that the responses are subjective. For example, just because a respondent says they know a lot about NCLB does not necessarily mean they do. Furthermore, as with all survey data, small changes to the wording of questions could alter the results significantly.
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Conclusion
Although controversy surrounds NCLB, we should not forgot that the American public's support of their local schools has been fairly consistent over the years. This is especially true of parents of public school children. Nevertheless, controversy over NCLB is unlikely to subside anytime soon given that the public is split on whether it hurts or helps schools. One thing is for sure, however: More people need to be educated on what NCLB is and how it affects public schools. School boards can play a vital role in helping people in their district understand how NCLB affects their schools. By educating the public on NCLB, school boards and communities can work together to help shape federal education policy that provides the greatest benefit to their students.
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Posted: August 28, 2007
© 2007 Center for Public Education
