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The Fourth Phi Delta Kappa Poll of Teachers' Attitudes Toward the Public Schools by Carol A. Langdon

JUST HOW good are our public schools today? If you ask public school teachers, the picture is bright. In fact, 16% more teachers give an A or a B to their local public schools than do members of the general public. More teachers rate the nation's schools higher, too. Teachers say that members of their profession are one of public education's most important assets, and they believe that the public schools where they teach are among the best. Most say their colleagues are doing a first-rate job in the classroom, and they think teachers should have the greatest voice in deciding what is taught there. These opinions were gathered in May 1997 in the Fourth Phi Delta Kappa Poll of Teachers' Attitudes Toward the Public Schools and in follow-up focus group interviews conducted in July 1997.

As was the case last year, this poll highlights similarities and differences between public school teachers' attitudes and attitudes of the public at large by asking teachers selected questions from the annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. It also examines trends in teachers' opinions by asking selected questions from the 1984 and 1989 teacher polls conducted by the Gallup Organization for Phi Delta Kappa. The findings of this year's survey are summarized below.

* Teachers' perceptions of how often their students misbehave in the classroom have changed since 1984. Fewer teachers today say they frequently find that students are truant or absent, vandalize or steal school property, skip class, drink alcohol, or have sex at school. But 17% more elementary teachers think that children frequently disrupt class than in 1984, and 12% more say that children are often disobedient. Ten percent more high school teachers than in 1984 believe that their students frequently dress inappropriately or use drugs at school.
* Teachers are less likely to say parents will support them if they tell parents their child is disrupting the classroom than if they tell parents their child is not working hard at school. More high school teachers (63%) than elementary teachers (48%) say parents would support them if their child were not working hard. Moreover, teachers' expectations of how much support they will get from parents fall short of what parents themselves say they would do.
* The greatest percentage of teachers say public schools have improved over the past five years, but more elementary teachers (45%) than high school teachers (29%) believe schools have improved. Fewer teachers in the East than in the South, West, or Midwest think their schools have gotten better.
* Teachers rate the schools where they teach highest (73% give them an A or a B) and their local schools second highest (62% give them an A or a B). Midwestern teachers rate their local schools higher than do teachers in the East, South, or West. Teachers grade the nation's public schools lowest; 28% give the nation's schools an A or a B. Still, teachers rate all schools higher than does the public.
* Most teachers give high marks to their colleagues: 81% give an A or a B to teachers in the local public schools. They tend to be less generous with their administrators (47% give administrators an A or a B) and even less so with local school boards and parents (35% give an A or a B to their school board, and only 18% give an A or a B to parents of students in the local public schools).
* Majorities of teachers and the public agree that higher-achieving students would be more likely to move to private schools. Teachers and the public do not agree about the effect on academic achievement of public school students who would move to private schools: 46% of teachers say their level of achievement would remain the same, whereas 65% of the public says it would improve.
* Teachers disagree with the public about the effect of part-time jobs on student achievement: 51% say it harms academic performance, whereas 32% of the public says it does so.
* Over twice as many teachers (46%) as members of the general public (20%) say there is too much emphasis on achievement testing in their schools, whereas almost twice as many public respondents (28%) as teachers (10%) say there is not enough.
* A majority of teachers (69%) are opposed to President Clinton's proposal for voluntary national assessments, whereas a majority of the public (57%) favors this plan.
* Nearly equal percentages of teachers (42%) and members of the public (43%) say they favor changing from the local property tax system for financing the nation's public schools to a local income tax system. But fewer teachers (33%) than members of the public (48%) oppose such a change.
* Teachers are more satisfied than the public with the public school curriculum: 51% say the curriculum meets the needs of students today, whereas 54% of the public says it needs to be changed.
* A majority of teachers say parents have about the right amount of influence on matters related to the allocation of school funds and the content of the curriculum, but a majority of the public in 1989 said parents should have more say in those two areas. Teachers this year were twice as likely as teachers in 1989 or 1984 to say that they themselves should have the most influence in deciding what is taught in the public schools.

Challenges Facing Public Schools

Discipline Revisited

Teachers were asked to estimate how frequently each of 18 discipline problems occurred in their classrooms in 1984 and 1989. This year's poll revisited that question to find out if teachers' perceptions have changed. The percentage of teachers who say students misbehave most of the time or fairly often has dropped over the years since 1984 for six discipline problems: truancy and absence, vandalism of school property, skipping classes, theft of school property, drinking alcohol at school, and sexual activity at school. The percentage has dropped since 1989 for five other problems: incomplete homework, sloppy dress, cheating, stealing personal property, and selling drugs at school.

The percentage of elementary teachers who say students disrupt the classroom and talk back to or disobey teachers most of the time or fairly often has increased since 1984. The percentage of high school teachers who estimate that students dress inappropriately or use drugs at school most of the time or fairly often has increased since 1984. Teachers' perceptions of the frequency of the two lowest-ranked problems -- taking money or property by force/using weapons or threats and physical attacks on teachers or staff -- have remained stable.

With the exceptions of cheating on tests and sloppy or inappropriate dress, a greater percentage of inner-city teachers than teachers in other settings report that students exhibit all discipline problems most of the time or fairly often. A greater percentage of teachers in inner cities (65%) and urban areas (47%) than teachers in small towns (38%), suburban areas (36%), and rural areas (31%) estimate that students are truant or absent most of the time or fairly often. More teachers in the South (77%) than in the Midwest (48%), East (45%), or West (41%) say students talk back and disobey teachers most of the time or fairly often.

The question:

About how often do each of the problems listed occur at the school where you teach?

	Most of the Time/Fairly Often
	All Teachers			Elementary Teachers			High School Teachers
	1997	1989	1984	1997	1989	1984	1997	1989	1984
Schoolwork/homework assignments not completed	71	79	76	68	76	73	78	85	80
Behavior that disrupts class	58	57	47	65	60	48	45	59	47
Talking back to, disobeying teachers	50	45	43	54	45	42	43	44	43
Truancy/being absent from school	41	45	47	35	32	29	57	67	62
Sloppy or inappropriate dress	40	45	37	36	43	33	51	49	41
Cheating on tests	27	45	40	19	33	29	47	64	51
Stealing money or personal property belonging to other students, teachers, or staff	21	32	32	21	26	25	25	40	39
Vandalizing school property	20	25	29	18	20	22	25	34	35
Skipping classes	18	29	35	9	18	16	41	59	57
Using drugs at school	15	14	17	5	5	6	39	30	29
Theft of school property	14	15	23	13	13	18	15	19	29
Selling drugs at school	9	14	13	3	1	4	26	32	24
Racial fights	6	6	4	5	5	3	6	9	5
Carrying of knives, firearms, or other weapons at school	5	4	8	3	3	5	7	8	10
Drinking alcoholic beverages at school	4	6	10	1	1	2	10	14	17
Sexual activity at school	4	6	8	1	1	3	8	13	12
Taking money or property by force, using weapons or threats	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Physical attacks on teachers or staff	2	2	1	2	2	1	2	2	1
(Figures add to more than 100% because of multiple answers.)

Tight Budgets, Tough Choices

When it comes to saving money, teachers favor by a margin of more than 3-1 reducing the number of administrators, an option also favored by nearly three-quarters of the public when the question was asked in 1991. Following reductions in administrative costs, 54% of both teachers and the public favor eliminating some courses. While 34% of teachers and 47% of the public favor reducing support staff, nearly seven times as many members of the public (47%) as teachers (7%) favor freezing salaries.

When teachers in focus groups were asked how they would reduce spending in their schools, a comment by a middle-school teacher reflected a common view: "Administration and bureaucracy -- all that stuff could be cut out! Give it to the teachers and the students, and a lot more money will be used a lot more effectively." Another teacher said, "Empower teachers. Teachers are leaders. Train them as leaders, and you won't need so many administrators."

The question:

As you are probably aware, many states are having severe budgetary problems. If it becomes necessary to reduce spending for education in this state, would you favor or oppose the following measures in the public schools of your community?

	Teachers	Public	Teachers	Public	Teachers	Public
	1997	1991	1997	1991	1997	1991
	Favor	Favor	Oppose	Oppose	Don't Know	Don't Know
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Reduce the number of administrators	74	73	21	19	5	8
Eliminate certain courses	54	54	33	34	13	12
Reduce the number of support staff members	34	47	57	45	9	8
Eliminate all extracurricular activities	24	32	70	62	6	6
Freeze all salaries	7	47	87	46	6	7
Increase class size	6	21	92	72	2	7
Reduce the number of teachers	3	15	95	78	2	7
(Figures add to more than 100% because of multiple answers.)

Parent Support for Teachers

In 1984, 1989, and 1996, teachers were asked to name the biggest problem with which the schools in their communities must deal. The problem they identified most often throughout these years was lack of interest and support from parents. This year, teachers and public school parents were asked whose side they thought parents would take if a teacher told them their child was misbehaving or disrupting the class. Teachers and public school parents disagree about how much support teachers can expect from parents. If a child were misbehaving or disrupting the class, 41% of teachers say parents would back the teacher, but 57% of public school parents say they would do so. Twice as many teachers (50%) as public school parents (25%) say parents would take their child's side. No differences in attitudes were found between elementary and high school teachers or among inner-city, urban, suburban, small-town, and rural teachers.

The question:*

Suppose you reported to a parent that his or her child was misbehaving in class and disrupting other students. Whose side do you think the parent would be more likely to take -- yours or the child's?

	Teachers	Public School Parents
	%	%
My side (school's side)	41	57
The child's side	50	25
Don't know	9	18

Teachers are more likely to say parents would support them if they told parents their child was not working hard enough at school. Still, teachers' expectations of parental support fall short of what parents themselves say they would do: 53% of teachers say parents would side with the teacher, whereas 70% of public school parents say they would do so. More high school teachers (63%) say parents would support them than elementary teachers (48%).

The comments of an elementary teacher in a focus group echoed the sentiments of many teachers interviewed: ". . . if [parents] would give us their support, find their child a place to study, sign the things that need to be signed, appear at school now and then, let the child know that education is important . . . they need to back the teachers." Still, teachers agree that they have a role in engaging parental support. Another teacher said, "We need inservice training for working with parents.We need to say, `This is what we are doing in class today, and we would like for you to do this at home to support this effort.'"

The question:**

Suppose you reported to a parent that his or her child was not working hard enough at schoolwork. Whose side do you think the parent would be more likely to take -- yours or the child's?

	Teachers	Public School Parents
	%	%
My side (school's side)	53	70
The child's side	40	22
Don't know	7	8

Have Schools Improved?

The greatest percentage of teachers (40%) say public schools in their communities have improved over the past five years. This image is consistent with grades teachers give their local public schools and the schools in which they teach. More elementary teachers (45%) than high school teachers (29%) believe the public schools in their communities have improved over the past five years. Fewer teachers in the East (30%) than teachers in the South (43%), West (43%), or Midwest (39%) think their public schools have improved.

The question:

Would you say that the public schools in your community have improved from, say, five years ago, gotten worse, or stayed about the same?

	Teachers
	1997
	%
Improved	40
Gotten worse	28
Stayed about the same	29
Don't know	3

Grading the Public Schools

Local Public Schools

Since 1984, when they were first asked, about 20% more teachers than members of the general public have given an A or a B to their local public schools. This year is little different, with 62% of teachers (but only 46% of the public) assigning a grade of A or B to the local public schools. Teachers in the Midwest rate their schools higher (73% A or B) than do teachers in the East (51%), South (58%), or West (60%). Only 36% of inner-city teachers assign an A or a B to their local schools, compared to 69% of teachers in schools in small towns, 67% of teachers in suburban schools, and 61% of teachers in rural schools.

The question:

Students are often given the grades A, B, C, D, and FAIL to denote the quality of their work. Suppose the public schools themselves, in this community, were graded in the same way. What grade would you give the public schools here -- A, B, C, D, or FAIL?

	Teachers	Public	Teachers	Public	Teachers	Public
	1997	1997	1989	1989	1984	1984
	%	%	%	%	%	%
A & B	62	46	66	43	64	42
A	12	10	11	8	12	10
B	50	36	55	35	52	32
C	30	32	29	33	27	35
D	6	11	4	11	4	11
FAIL	2	6	*	4	1	4
Don't know	*	5	1	9	4	8
*Less than one-half of 1%.

Schools Where Teachers Teach

As in years past, about three-fourths of teachers surveyed have assigned an A or a B to the school in which they teach. This year 73% give their own school an A or a B. More elementary teachers than high school teachers give their schools high grades: 78% give an A or a B to their school, compared to 68% of high school teachers. More teachers in small towns (80%) and suburban areas (78%) give their schools an A or a B than do teachers in urban areas (73%), rural areas (72%), or inner cities (55%).

The question:

How about the public school in which you teach? What grade would you give your own school?

	1997	1996	1989	1984
	%	%	%	%
A & B	73	73	75	72
A	25	27	22	21
B	48	46	53	51
C	19	22	21	20
D	6	3	3	4
FAIL	2	1	1	2
Don't know	*	1	1	2

Public Schools Nationally

Both teachers and the public view the nation's public schools in a less favorable light than they do their own schools, but teachers tend to issue better grades than the public. This year, 28% of teachers give an A or a B to the nation's public schools, whereas only 22% of public respondents do so.

The question:

How about the public schools in the nation as a whole? What grade would you give the nation's public schools?

	1997	1996	1989	1984
	%	%	%	%
A & B	28	22	30	21
A	1	2	1	2
B	27	20	29	20
C	52	48	49	46
D	9	15	7	18
FAIL	1	6	2	5
Don't know	10	9	12	10

Five Other Ratings

In 1984, 1989, and again this year, teachers were also asked to grade local public school teachers, administrators, school boards, parents, and their own teacher training. A majority of teachers in 1997 assign high marks to their colleagues: 81% give them an A or a B. Inner-city teachers tend to rate local teachers slightly lower than others: 73% give them an A or a B, compared to 85% of suburban teachers, 84% of small-town teachers, 83% of urban teachers, and 80% of rural teachers.

When teachers in focus groups were asked what the major assets of public schools are today, many agreed with the teacher who said, "One of the most important assets [is] teachers themselves. Teachers are in that building before school, after school, hours and hours beyond their scheduled time period. All the [extracurricular activities] available to kids . . . are because there are teachers volunteering . . . on the weekend and during the summer. Teachers are teachers 24 hours a day. And they are growing and learning right along with students."

The first question:

What grade would you give the teachers in the local public schools?

	1997	1989	1984
	%	%	%
A & B	81	83	78
A	23	20	18
B	58	63	60
C	16	15	17
D	1	1	2
FAIL	*	*	*
Don't know	2	1	3
*Less than one-half of 1%.

While teachers tend to rate other teachers highly, local administrators fare less well: less than 50% of teachers gave an A or a B to administrators in 1984 and 1989. This year, 47% give their local administrators an A or a B. More than 50% of elementary teachers give an A or a B to local administrators, but just 38% of high school teachers do so. Teachers in inner-city schools rate their administrators lowest: 31% give them an A or a B. Suburban teachers rate their administrators highest: 51% assign them an A or B.

The second question:

What grade would you give the administrators in the local public schools?

	1997	1989	1984
	%	%	%
A & B	47	49	44
A	7	9	10
B	40	40	34
C	32	36	34
D	13	11	15
FAIL	7	3	5
Don't know	1	1	2

Thirty-five percent of teachers give local school boards an A or a B this year, up slightly from 1984 figures. (This question was not asked in 1989.) Teachers in the East rate their school boards lowest: 24% give them an A or a B, compared to 40% in the Midwest, 35% in the South, and 33% in the West. Just 15% of inner-city teachers give an A or a B to their local school boards, compared to 41% of those in small towns, 37% of those in suburban areas, 35% of those in rural areas, and 27% of those in urban areas.

The third question:

What grade would you give the local school board?

	1997	1984
	%	%
A & B	35	29
A	7	4
B	28	25
C	32	36
D	17	19
FAIL	14	13
Don't know	2	3

Of all the groups they were asked to grade, teachers consistently give parents the fewest A's and B's. This year just 18% give an A or a B to parents of students in the local public schools for bringing up their children. Teachers from inner-city, urban, and rural areas give no A's to parents. Only 3% of inner-city teachers give B's, compared to12% of urban teachers and 19% of rural teachers.

The fourth question:

What grade would you give the parents of students in the local public schools for bringing up their children?

	1997	1989	1984
	%	%	%
A & B	18	22	21
A	1	2	2
B	17	20	19
C	43	49	45
D	27	22	24
FAIL	11	6	7
Don't know	1	2	3
(Not all columns add to 100% because of rounding.)

Teachers give higher marks this year to their college training than they have in the past: 64% give their training an A or a B, compared to 57% in 1989 and 49% in 1984.

The fifth question:

What grade would you give the teacher education training you received?

	1997	1989	1984
	%	%	%
A & B	64	57	49
A	23	17	14
B	41	40	35
C	25	32	33
D	8	7	10
FAIL	2	3	6
Don't know	1	1	2

Public Versus Nonpublic Schools

Effect of a Shift to Nonpublic Schools

Cleveland's voucher program -- the first to include religious schools -- is entering its second year, but research on the effect of this school choice program on academic achievement has so far been inconclusive. A majority of teachers and the public agree that higher-achieving students would be more likely to move to private schools. But 20% of the public says that average-achieving students would be most likely to move to nonpublic schools, while only 9% of teachers say these students would be most likely to move.

The question:

Suppose a large number of students in the local public schools moved to the private schools. In your opinion, who would be more likely to move to the private schools -- higher-achieving students, lower-achieving students, or average-achieving students?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Higher-achieving students	79	65
Lower-achieving students	5	8
Average-achieving students	9	20
No difference	--	3
Don't know	7	4

There is strong disagreement between teachers and the public about the effect on academic achievement of public school students who would move to nonpublic schools. The greatest number of teachers (46%) say achievement would remain about the same for these students, whereas the greatest number of public respondents (65%) say their achievement would improve.

The question:

In your opinion, would the academic achievement of those public school students who had moved to the private schools improve, get worse, or remain about the same?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Improve	41	65
Get worse	6	4
Remain about the same	46	28
Don't know	7	3

A majority of teachers (58%) and the public (70%) agree that the academic achievement of students who stay in the public schools would remain about the same. But more than twice as many teachers (25%) as public respondents (11%) say students' achievement would get worse.

The question:

How about the students who remained in the local public schools? Would their academic achievement improve, get worse, or remain about the same?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Improve	12	17
Get worse	25	11
Remain about the same	58	70
Don't know	5	2

Home Schooling

The Home School Legal Defense Association estimates that there are approximately 1.23 million American children being taught at home.Ý This year's poll of teachers revisited a question asked of the public in 1988: Should parents have the le-gal right to educate their children at home? While 53% of the general public in 1988 said parents should have this right, 70% of teachers this year say they should. Teachers and the pub-lic were both asked this year if they thought home schools should or should not be required to guarantee a minimum level of educational quality. Ninety-five percent of teachers say home schools should be held accountable, and 88% of the public agree.

The first question:

Do you think that parents should or should not have the legal right to educate their children at home?

	Teachers	Public
	1997	1988
	%	%
Should	70	53
Should not	22	39
Don't know	8	8

The second question:

Do you think that home schools should or should not be required to guarantee a minimum level of educational quality?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Should	95	88
Should not	3	10
Don't know	2	2

Student Achievement

Part-Time Work

Teachers disagree with the public about the effect of part-time work on a student's academic performance. Only 8% say it would have a positive effect, compared to 29% of the public. Indeed, a majority of teachers (51%) say part-time work hurts academic performance.

The question:

What effect do you feel having a part-time job has on the academic performance of students in the public schools in your community?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Improves academic performance	8	29
Hurts academic performance	51	32
Does not affect academic performance	16	35
Don't know	25	4

Achievement Testing

More than twice as many teachers (46%) as members of the general public (20%) think there is too much emphasis on achievement testing in their schools. Almost twice as many members of the public (28%) as teachers (10%) say there is not enough emphasis.

In focus groups, teachers' opinions about how much emphasis is placed on testing tended to depend on the district in which they teach. Overall, teachers expressed concern about how test results are used. An elementary teacher said: "I feel there is too much emphasis on test results in my district. They are being used for teacher accountability, not student progress." Another teacher said, "The idea of testing is good, because we have to have kids come out of school with basic skills. But how do we do that without crucifying teachers and kids?"

The question:

Academic achievement test scores are used by public schools in many ways, such as for grade promotion and for graduation. In your opinion, is there too much emphasis on achievement testing in the public schools where you teach, not enough emphasis on testing, or about the right amount?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Too much emphasis	46	20
Not enough emphasis	10	28
About the right amount	41	48
Don't know	3	4

Voluntary National Testing

Fifteen of the nation's largest school districts and a handful of states have agreed to administer voluntary national tests in reading and math, as the Clinton Administration has proposed. But the tests have stirred controversy on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and among conservative family and education groups. A majority of teachers (69%) are opposed to such tests; only 22% favor the President's initiative, while 57% of the public does so.

While teachers in focus groups generally agreed that they should be held accountable, they objected to the idea of a national assessment. Some teachers thought such an assessment would be "impossible" to implement. An elementary teacher said, "I have a problem standardizing anything, because I think it's not possible. You cannot compare apples and oranges." A middle school teacher said, "I don't believe a national assessment is possible. Where would the funding come from? How can you have a national assessment if you don't have a national curriculum?"

Teachers also expressed concern about the purpose of a national assessment. As one teacher put it, "I don't object to having a national assessment. The problem is the tool and how it would be used. Once you have test results for a school district, figures lie and liars figure. You can use them against people, and you can draw conclusions that are probably incorrect."

Teachers also expressed concern about the consequences of a national assessment. A high school teacher said, "If you have national testing, you have a national curriculum, and you will teach to the test in order to look good when the scores are printed in the newspaper."

The question:

President Clinton has proposed that the performance of the nation's public schools be assessed according to how well students score on achievement tests at two different grade levels. In general, do you favor or oppose this proposal?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Favor	22	57
Oppose	69	37
No opinion	9	6

Financing the Public Schools

Like the public, teachers are divided about changing the system of financing public education from one based on local property taxes to one based on a local income tax. Nearly equal percentages of teachers (42%) and public respondents (43%) say they favor such a change, but fewer teachers (33%) than public respondents (48%) are opposed.

An East Coast elementary teacher observed in a focus group, "We have schools located very close to each other that are very unequal in what they can provide for students. Peo-ple get upset about their high taxes because the person who lives across the street ends up paying less than half. That happens on the street where I live. There has to be a restructur-ing of the tax base. It's so unfair, and we see it very vividly where we live."

The question:

At the present time, local property taxes are the main source for financing the nation's public schools. Thinking about your own community, would you favor or oppose changing the local property tax system to a local income tax system as the principal way to finance the local public schools?

	Teachers	Public
	%	%
Favor	42	43
Oppose	33	48
No opinon	25	9

The Curriculum

Teachers are slightly less likely to agree with the public or with public school parents that the curriculum in their local public schools needs to be changed. While majorities of the public (54%) and of public school parents (53%) say the curriculum in their local public schools needs to be updated, a majority of teachers (51%) say they are satisfied with the curriculum in their schools.

When teachers were asked in focus groups to identify weaknesses in their school curriculum, a general concern was whether the curriculum meets the needs of students who are not college-bound. As one elementary teacher noted, "Sometimes I think in education we focus on those people who are going to go places, and we forget that somebody's got to work at McDonald's."

The question:

Do you think the curriculum in the public school where you teach needs to be changed to meet today's needs, or do you think it already meets today's needs?

	Teachers	Public	Public School Parents
	%	%
Needs to be changed	47	54	53
Meets today's needs	51	39	46
Don't know	3	7	1
(Not all columns add to 100% because of rounding.)

School Governance

Parental Control of Public Schools

The 1990 Kentucky Education Reform Act mandated school-based decision making by means of councils of administrators, teachers, and parents, but studies of these councils indicate that in many instances parents actually play a limited role.ÝÝ In Rochester, New York, contract negotiations between the local teacher union and the school district were held up last summer over a proposal to give parents a voice in evaluating teachers' job performance.

The extent to which parents should be involved in local school governance continues to be debated. When the public was asked a question on this issue in 1989, more than 50% said parents should have more say about allocations of school funds and the content of the curriculum, and more than 40% said parents should have more say about selecting and hiring teachers and administrators and selecting books and instructional materials.

In this year's poll, teachers were asked the same question the public was asked in 1989. Fifty percent or more think parents have about the right amount of say about fund allocations, about the curriculum, and about the selection of books and instructional materials, and more than 40% believe parents have about the right amount of say with regard to selecting and hiring teachers and administrators, setting teacher and administrator salaries, and selecting school library books.

The question:

Do you feel that parents of public school students should have more say, less say, or do they have about the right amount of say regarding the following areas in the public schools?

	More Say		Less Say		Right Amount
	Teachers	Parents	Teachers	Parents	Teachers	Parents
	1997	1989	1997	19891	1997	1989
	%	%	%	%	%	%
Allocation of school funds	23	59	18	10	54	27
Curriculum (i.e., the courses offered)	25	53	21	9	52	36
Selection and hiring of administrators	23	46	28	14	44	37
Books and instructional materials	14	43	34	13	50	41
Selection and hiring of teachers	11	41	38	17	47	38
Teacher and administrator salaries	11	39	42	17	43	39
Books placed in the school libraries	15	38	35	15	47	44
(Columns do not add across to 100% because "Don't Know" responses are not included.)

Control of the Curriculum

Teachers consistently say they should have the most influence in deciding what is taught in the public schools. This at-titude is stronger this year than in the past: nearly twice as many teachers (70%) say so this year as in 1989 (36%) or 1984 (33%). Teachers rank local school boards second in influence, followed by state government, parents, and the federal government. (Principals and other administrators appeared only in the 1989 poll.)

The curriculum in our public schools is "stuffed," as one high school teacher put it in a focus group. Teachers mentioned the "hidden curriculum" that enables teachers to "place the emphasis in the best ways they can and still get around all of those standards and requirements and mandates that have to be there."

The question:

In your opinion, who should have the greatest influence in deciding what is taught in the public schools of your community?

	1997	1989	1984
	%	%	%
Teachers	70	36	33
Local school board	11	15	19
State government	10	18	17
Parents	3	11	2
Federal government	2	4	3
Principals and other administrators	--	9	--
Don't know	4	7	26
(Not all columns add to 100% because of rounding.)

Research Procedure

The Fourth Phi Delta Kappa Poll of Teachers' Attitudes Toward the Public Schools was developed and implemented by the Phi Delta Kappa Center for Evaluation, Development, and Research. The mail survey consisted of 25 questions -- 13 from the 1997 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, two from the 1988 public opinion poll, one from the 1989 public opinion poll, one from the 1991 public opinion poll, and eight from the 1984 and 1989 polls of teachers' attitudes conducted for Phi Delta Kappa by the Gallup Organization. A random sample of 4,000 public school teachers throughout the United States was provided by Market Data Retrieval. The sample was stratified proportionately by the Gallup Organization's four regions and by grade level taught.

The survey, cover letter, and a return envelope were mailed on 6 May 1997. A follow-up postcard was mailed on 10 May 1997. Five surveys were returned as undeliverable.

Completed surveys were sorted by zip code into the four geographic regions established by the Gallup Organization. The response rate was 17.8%, with 714 respondents returning completed surveys. This sample has a margin of error estimated to be plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level. A margin of error of plus or minus 4% at the 95% confidence level means that sample responses would differ by no more than plus or minus 4% from the true values. Reported differences in responses between elementary and secondary teachers; among inner-city, urban, suburban, small-town, and rural teachers; and among teachers from the East, South, Midwest, and West are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

Focus group interviews were conducted three times during July 1997 to amplify quantitative data for specificity, depth, and personal context. Participants were drawn from public school teachers enrolled in professional development seminars at Phi Delta Kappa. In all, 26 teachers took part. They represented the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee, as well as British Columbia, Canada. Comments from focus group participants reported in this article are not generalizable to all public school teachers.

Composition of the Sample

Demographic information provided by respondents indicates that 75% are female, and 25% are male. The mean age of respondents is 44 years. Racial/ethnic background information indicates that 91% are white, 6% are black, 1% are Asian or Pacific Islander, 2% are "other." Of all persons answering the survey, 2.4% indicated that they are of Hispanic origin.

Respondents indicated that their highest degree earned was a bachelor's (39%), master's (55%), specialist's (5%), or doctorate (1%). They have taught an average of 17 years. Fifty percent indicated they teach at the elementary level, 21% at the middle/junior high school level, and 29% at the high school level. Twelve percent teach in inner cities, 13% in urban areas, 27% in suburban areas, 31% in small towns, and 17% in rural areas.

**The question for the public was: "What if a teacher or principal reported that your oldest child was not working hard enough at schoolwork? Whose side do you think you would be more likely to take -- the school's or your child's?"

ÝThis figure is taken from the Web site of the Home School Legal Defense Association (www.hslda.org).

ÝÝSee, for example, Institute on Education Reform, The Implementation of Kentucky's School-Based Decision-Making Program (Lexington: University of Kentucky, 1995); Patricia J. Kannapel et al., "School-Based Decision Making in Rural Kentucky Schools: Interim Findings of a Five-Year, Longitudinal Study," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, April 1994; Jane L. David, "School-Based Decision Making: Linking Decisions to Learning; Third-Year Report to the Prichard Committee," paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 1995; and Eddy J. Van Meter, "Implementing School-Based Decision Making in Kentucky," NASSP Bulletin, vol. 78, 1994, pp. 61-70.

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Last updated 30 December 1997
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Copyright 1997 Phi Delta Kappa International