The Fifth Phi Delta Kappa Poll Of Teachers' Attitudes Toward The Public Schools   By Carol A. Langdon Art © Linda Weatherly

THIS MARKS Phi Delta Kappa's fifth opportunity to compare the attitudes of the nation's public school teachers with those of the public on some of education's hot-button issues. Over the years since 1984, when Phi Delta Kappa and the Gallup Organization conducted their first nationwide survey of teachers, one trend has clearly emerged: teachers' perceptions of what goes on in school rarely correspond with those of the public. The reason for this disparity seems apparent. Teachers' viewpoints are shaped by firsthand experience in America's classrooms with public school students, five days a week, from early morning to late afternoon, nine months a year. On the other hand, many people's opinions about what goes on in school are formed from the limited, often negative, information doled out in newspapers and repeated as television sound bites.

Most strikingly, teachers consistently view public schools in a more positive light than does the public. They give schools better grades, regardless of whether they are asked about their own school, the schools in their local communities, or the schools across the country. This year they gave all public schools their highest grades ever. The problems teachers see in their classrooms are not the same ones the public believes are there. In 1984 teachers said the biggest problem in their local public schools was parents' lack of support and interest, but the public said it was lack of discipline. In both 1989 and 1996, teachers again said the biggest problem was parents' lack of support and interest, but the public said it was drug use. This year, teachers and the public were given a short list of problem behaviors and asked to choose the biggest problem facing local schools. Once again, teachers' perceptions differ from those of the public. The greatest percentage of teachers identify alcohol as a very or somewhat serious problem, whereas the greatest percentage of the public points to drugs.

The tendency for teachers to award high grades to schools holds true for all teachers except those in the inner cities. Inner-city teachers give their community schools, the school in which they teach, and the nation's schools nearly the same grades, and all are lower than the grades given by teachers in urban, suburban, small-town, and rural areas. Inner-city teachers see discipline, drugs, fighting, gangs, and teenage pregnancy as more serious problems in their schools than do teachers in other settings. Whereas a majority of teachers as a whole say children today get a better education than they themselves received, more inner-city teachers believe children today get a worse education than they themselves received. More inner-city teachers also say their schools have trouble getting and keeping good teachers.

Selected questions from "The 30th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools" were posed to a random sample of teachers across the nation to compare their views with those of the public. Teachers were also asked some perennial questions taken from the first and second teacher surveys conducted in 1984 and 1989 to ascertain trends in teachers' attitudes. For some questions, teachers' answers are compared by the Gallup Organization's four regions of the country (East, Midwest, South, and West) and by the size of the school district in which they teach (inner-city, urban, suburban, small-town, and rural). Here are some highlights from this year's poll.

• By almost a 6-1 margin (78% to 14%), teachers oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense. Far fewer teachers (14%) than members of the public (44%) favor such a proposal. More teachers (88%) than members of the public (75%) think private schools should be accountable in the same way public schools are if they accept government tuition payments. Of the 42% of teachers with a child in public school, 63% say they would keep their child in his or her current public school; just 51% of public school parents would do so. But of the 30% of teachers who say they would change their child's school, only 16% would send their child to another public school, whereas 34% would send their child to a parochial school, and 32% would send their child to a private school.
  
• Teachers grade public schools higher this year than in the past. More teachers this year assign grades of A or B to their community schools, to the school in which they teach, and to the nation's schools than in any year since the teacher poll began in 1984. Twenty-three percent more teachers (69%) than members of the public (46%) give their local public schools an A or a B, and 15% more teachers (33%) than members of the public (18%) give the nation's schools an A or a B. Except for inner-city teachers, teachers continue to award the highest grades to the schools in which they teach.
  
• Fewer teachers today (17%) than in 1989 (21%) or 1984 (21%) favor paying higher salaries to teachers of mathematics and other subjects for which teacher shortages are known to exist. Yet more teachers today (40%) favor the idea of merit pay than did teachers in 1989 (31%) or 1984 (32%). More teachers today (23%) than in 1989 (19%) say their schools have trouble attracting good teachers, but the same percentage of teachers today as in 1989 (32%) believe their schools have trouble retaining them. The most frequently mentioned reason teachers give for the difficulty schools have in getting and keeping good teachers is low pay.
  
• There are some issues on which teachers appear to agree with the public. A majority of teachers (60%) agree with a majority of the public (67%) that prayers should be allowed in the public schools. A majority of teachers who have a child attending public school (55%) and a plurality of public school parents (50%) believe that public school has caused their child to become an eager learner. Majorities of teachers (55%) and of the public (65%) say that children with learning problems should be put in special classes.
  
• Asked to judge the importance of six measures of school effectiveness, the largest proportion of teachers (69%) say good citizenship is very important, but the largest proportion of the public (82%) says high school graduation rates are very important. Only 15% of teachers say standardized test scores are a very important indicator of school effectiveness, whereas 50% of the public says they are a very important measure.
  
• While a majority of respondents to the public poll (66%) say they would be willing to pay more taxes to improve the quality of the nation's inner-city public schools, only a plurality of teachers (47%) say they would be willing to do so. However, more inner-city teachers (64%) and suburban teachers (57%) than teachers in other areas say they would be willing to pay more taxes.
  
• Asked to judge the seriousness of eight problems, the greatest percentage of teachers (69%) identify alcohol as a very or fairly serious problem, but the greatest percentage of members of the public (80%) point to drugs. More teachers in the South than in other regions say teenage pregnancy is a very or fairly serious problem. It is interesting to note that the largest percentages of teachers' responses for all eight problems fall in the category "fairly serious" compared to the greatest percentage of the public's responses, which fall into the category "very serious," suggesting that teachers may not find any of these problems to be as serious as does the public.
  
• In 1998, as in 1984 and 1989, the top four subjects teachers would require college-bound high school students to take are English, mathematics, science, and history/U.S. government. But for students who do not plan to attend college, the top four subjects teachers would require this year are English, mathematics, history/U.S. government, and industrial arts/homemaking. Science, one of the top four subjects teachers said they would require for these students in 1984 and 1989, slipped to sixth place this year. Foreign language, which ranks fifth this year as a required subject for college-bound students, consistently falls in last place for non-college-bound students. Industrial arts/homemaking, which places fourth this year as a required subject for non-college-bound students, consistently ranks last for college-bound students.

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Public Versus Nonpublic Schools

Choosing Private Schools at Public Expense

A much smaller percentage of teachers (14%) than of the public (44%) favor allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense. Just 9% of teachers in the East favor such a plan, while 16% of teachers in the South, Midwest, and West favor the plan. Teachers with no children in school are less likely to favor such a plan (12%) than are teachers with children in public schools (17%) or teachers with children in parochial or private schools (34%).

The question: Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense?

Teachers %

Public %

Impact on Public Schools of Aid to Private or Church-Related Schools

Less than one-half of teachers (42%) say they have children in their local public schools, and slightly more than 4% say they have children in parochial or private schools. Given the choice of any public, private, or church-related school, with tuition paid for by the government, a majority of teachers with children in the public schools (63%) say they would not move their oldest child from the school he or she now attends. Thirty percent say they would send their oldest child to a different school -- 34% to a church-related school, 32% to a private school, and 16% to another public school. The remainder responded "don't know."

The first question: Suppose you could send your oldest child to any public, private, or church-related school of your choice, with tuition paid for by the government. Would you send your oldest child to the school he or she now attends, or to a different school?

	Public School Parents
	Teachers %	Public %

The second question, asked of teachers who said they would send their child to a different school: Would you send this child to a private school, a church-related school, or to another public school?

	Public School Parents
	Teachers %	Public %

Obligations of Private or Church-Related Schools That Accept Public Funds

Most people believe that private schools should be held to the same standards as public schools if they receive public support. However, more teachers (88%) than members of the public (75%) say private or church-related schools that accept government tuition payments should be accountable to the state in the same ways that public schools are accountable. This pattern holds for all teachers, whether they have children in public schools, children in private schools, or no children in school.

The question: Do you think private or church-related schools that accept government tuition payments should be accountable to the state in the way public schools are accountable?

		National Totals		No Children In School		Public School Parents		Nonpublic School Parents
		Teachers %	Public %	Teachers %	Public %	Teachers %	Public %	Teachers %	Public %

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Grading the Schools

Local Public Schools

Proportionately more teachers (69%) give their local public schools a grade of A or B than do members of the public (46%). In fact, more teachers rate their local schools higher this year than in any other year since the teacher poll began in 1984. More teachers in the East (76%) give their schools an A or a B this year than do teachers in the Midwest (74%), West (65%), or South (64%). Only in the South do any teachers (4%) give their local public schools an F. More suburban teachers (77%) give their local public schools an A or a B than do small-town teachers (74%), rural teachers (72%), urban teachers (59%), or inner-city teachers (44%). Suburban teachers grade their local schools higher than their counterparts, and they grade their local schools significantly higher than inner-city teachers grade their 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 '98 %

Public '98 %

Teachers '97 %

Public '97 %

Teachers '89 %

Public '89 %

Teachers '84 %

Public '84 %

Schools Where Teachers Teach

Public school teachers tend to rate the school in which they teach higher than other schools in their community or in the nation. Somewhat more teachers (78%) this year give the school in which they teach an A or a B than in years past. However, just 51% of inner-city teachers give their own schools a grade of A or B, while 85% of suburban teachers, 84% of teachers in small towns, 80% of rural teachers, and 73% of urban teachers do so.

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

1998 %

1997 %

1996 %

1989 %

1984 %

Public Schools Nationally

Typically, both teachers and the public give lower grades to public schools in the nation as a whole than they give to local schools, although more teachers give A's or B's to the nation's schools than does the public. While this year is no exception, the difference between teachers' assessments and the public's is greater this year than in the past, with 33% of teachers assigning an A or a B to the nation's public schools and just 18% of the public awarding such high grades to the nation's schools. Significantly fewer teachers in the South (28%) assign an A or a B to the nation's schools than do teachers in the West (38%), the Midwest (35%), or the East (30%).

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

Teachers 1998 %

Public 1998 %

Teachers 1997 %

Public 1997 %

Teachers 1996 %

Public 1996 %

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Teachers and Teaching

Higher Salaries in Certain Subject Areas

According to the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, more than 30% of mathematics teachers do not have at least a college minor in the subject, and 56% of students taking science courses are taught by teachers who have no background in the science. (See "Statistics on Teaching in America," available from website of the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, http://www.tc.columbia.edu/~teachcomm/fact2.htm.) The number of family and consumer sciences teachers graduating from universities dropped from 852 in 1986-87 to 315 in 1995-96, creating a dearth of teachers in that field. (See Mary Ann Zehr, "Shortage of Consumer Sciences Teachers Hitting Home," Education Week, 28 October 1998, p. 7.) In spite of such shortages, fewer public school teachers today (17%) than in 1989 (21%) or 1984 (21%) favor paying teachers in these content areas higher wages than teachers of other subjects.

The question: Today there is a shortage of teachers in science, math, technical subjects, and vocational subjects. If your local schools needed teachers in these subjects, would you favor or oppose paying them higher wages than teachers of other subjects?

1998 %

1989 %

1984 %

Merit Pay

In 1984 and 1989, we asked teachers a series of questions about merit pay, which more than 60% opposed both years. The main reasons teachers gave for their opposition were the difficulty of evaluating teacher performance and the morale problems that merit pay might cause. More recently, teacher-pay systems are being implemented that link overall school performance to specific reform goals instead of rewarding individual teachers for the quality of their teaching. For example, teachers in Kentucky receive cash bonuses if their schools exceed their target goals. This year we revisited the merit pay question and discovered that more teachers (40%) now favor merit pay than in 1989 (31%) or in 1984 (32%).

The question: How do you, yourself, feel about the idea of merit pay for teachers? In general, do you favor or oppose it?

1998 %

1989 %

1984 %

Attracting and Retaining Good Teachers

In 1996 the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future predicted a teacher shortage in the next 10 years as a result of rapidly growing student enrollments and an increasing number of retiring teachers. While there is disagreement about the overall prediction, there is agreement that teacher shortages in mathematics, the sciences, and vocational education do exist, and inner-city schools have more trouble recruiting teachers than do wealthy suburban districts. Do schools have more trouble recruiting good teachers now than in the past? We first asked teachers this question in 1984, so we revisited it this year to find out if teachers' perceptions have changed. More teachers today (23%) say their schools have difficulty getting good teachers than in 1989 (19%), but fewer than in 1984, when 37% said their schools had difficulty recruiting good teachers.

Predictably, far more inner-city teachers (49%) say their schools have trouble getting good teachers than do rural teachers (25%), small-town teachers (23%), urban teachers (17%), and suburban teachers (12%). More than 30% of teachers in the West say their schools have problems getting good teachers, while 24% of teachers in the South, 22% of teachers in the Midwest, and 12% of teachers in the East agree. The number-one reason teachers give for the problems their schools have in getting good teachers is low pay (28%). Geographic location of the district (18%), working conditions (15%), and teacher shortages (9%) are the next most frequently cited reasons.

The question: Does the school in which you teach have difficulty in getting good teachers? If "yes," explain briefly, in a few words, why.

1998 %

1989 %

1984 %

If there is a shortage of teachers, inadequate retention of well-qualified teachers may be one of the biggest reasons. The percentage of teachers in our survey who say their schools have trouble keeping good teachers (32%) has not changed since 1989, although it is down somewhat from 48% in 1984. More inner-city teachers (65%) say their schools have trouble keeping good teachers than do teachers in urban (28%), suburban (23%), small-town (29%), or rural (34%) areas. The main reason teachers give for leaving is the same one they give for schools' not attracting good teachers -- low pay (35%). This is followed by working conditions (17%); lack of support from administrators, community, and parents (15%); weak or poor administration (9%); location (7%); workload (6%); better job opportunities (5%); lack of respect (3%); and burnout (2%). The specific problem with working conditions that teachers mention most often is poor student discipline. These reasons are similar to those identified by a study group of the National Association of State Boards of Education. (See The Numbers Game: Ensuring Quantity and Quality in the Teaching Workforce [Alexandria, Va.: National Association of State Boards of Education, October 1998]. This study cites low salaries, poor student discipline, and being assigned to teach subjects for which they are not prepared as the top reasons teachers quit.)

The question: Does the school in which you teach have difficulty in keeping good teachers? If "yes" explain briefly, in a few words, why.

1998 %

1989 %

1984 %

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Effectiveness of Public Schools

Is Education Today Better or Worse?

Considerably more teachers (56%) than members of the public (41%) say children today get a better education than they themselves did. More inner-city teachers (35%) believe children today get a worse education than do teachers in urban (25%), suburban (19%), small-town (21%), and rural (21%) areas.

The question: As you look on your own elementary and high school education, is it your impression that children today get a better or worse education than you did?

Teachers %

Public %

Impact of the Public School on Students

Teachers and members of the public who are public school parents generally agree about the impact school has had or is having on their oldest child's attitude toward learning. Slightly more teachers (55%) than members of the public (50%) say public school has caused their oldest child to become an eager learner, and nearly equal numbers of teachers (35%) and of the public (34%) say public school has caused their child to tolerate learning as a necessary chore. But fewer teachers (5%) than members of the public (15%) say school has turned their child off to learning.

The question: How would you describe the impact school has had or is having on your oldest child's attitude toward learning?

Teachers Who Are Public School Parents %

Public School Parents %

Measuring School Effectiveness

Teachers and the public were asked to evaluate the importance of six measures of school effectiveness. The greatest percentage of teachers (69%) say the number of high school graduates who practice good citizenship is a very important indicator of school effectiveness. But the greatest percentage of the public (82%) says the number of students who graduate from high school is a very important measure of school effectiveness. When teachers' mean responses are compared by the region of the country in which they teach, citizenship is seen to be a significantly more important measure of school effectiveness for teachers in the West than it is for teachers in other regions. The percentage of high school students who go on to college or junior college and the percentage who complete college are significantly more important for teachers in the East. Far fewer teachers (15%) than members of the public (50%) say standardized test scores are a very important indicator, and test scores are seen as significantly less important by teachers in the West.

The question: How important do you think each of the following is for measuring the effectiveness of the public schools in your community?

	Very Important		Somewhat Important	Not Very Important	Not at All Important
	Teachers %	Public %	Teachers %	Teachers %	Teachers %

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Politics and the Public Schools

Improving the Nation's Inner-City Schools

Fewer teachers (47%) than members of the public (66%) say they would be willing to pay more taxes to provide funds to improve the quality of the nation's inner-city public schools. More inner-city teachers (64%) and suburban teachers (57%) say they would be willing to pay more taxes than do urban teachers (46%), rural teachers (39%), or small-town teachers (38%). More teachers in the West (59%) say they would be willing to pay more taxes to improve inner-city schools than do teachers in the Midwest (45%), the East (43%), or the South (43%).

The question: Would you be willing or unwilling to pay more taxes to provide funds to improve the quality of the nation's inner-city public schools?

Teachers %

Public %

Prayer Amendment

As does a majority of the public (67%), a majority of teachers (60%) favor an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would permit prayers to be spoken in the public schools. Support for such an amendment among teachers appears to have grown since this question was first asked in 1984. More teachers in the South (79%) favor such an amendment, whereas fewer teachers in the West (42%) do so. Teachers in the East and the Midwest are more evenly divided, with 55% and 58% respectively favoring an amendment permitting school prayer.

The question: An amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been proposed that would permit prayers to be spoken in the public schools. Do you favor or oppose this amendment?

Teachers 1998 %

Public 1998 %

Teachers 1984 %

Public 1984 %

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Problems Facing the Public Schools

Seriousness of Selected Problems

Teachers and the public seldom agree about the severity of problems in our public schools. In 1996, for instance, the public identified drug use as the biggest problem that local schools must face, but teachers said the biggest problem was getting support from parents. This year teachers and the public were asked how serious each of eight problems is in their local schools. The greatest percentage of teachers (69%) say alcohol is a very serious or fairly serious problem, whereas the greatest percentage of the public (80%) identifies drugs as very serious or fairly serious. Inner-city teachers perceive discipline, drugs, fighting, gangs, and teenage pregnancy as more serious problems than do teachers in all other settings. Urban teachers see discipline, fighting, and gangs as more serious problems than do teachers in suburban, small-town, and rural areas. Teachers in small towns view smoking as a more serious problem than do their counterparts in other areas. Interestingly, the largest proportions of teachers' responses fall in the category "fairly serious," whereas most of the public's responses fall in the category "very serious." This suggests that teachers do not perceive these problems to be as serious as do members of the public.

The question: How serious a problem would you say each of the following is in the public schools in your community?

		Very and Fairly Serious Combined		Very Serious	Fairly Serious	Not Very Serious	Not at All Serious
		Teachers %	Public %	Teachers %	Teachers %	Teachers %	Teachers %

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School Operation/Curriculum

Placement of Students with Learning Problems

More teachers (33%) than members of the public (26%) are in favor of including children with learning problems in the same classroom with other students. Judging by the number of unsolicited comments offered in response to this question, many teachers appear to hold strong opinions about whether or not children with learning problems should be included in the regular classroom. Most of their remarks are echoed in one teacher's comment, "It depends!" It depends on the "nature of the disability," the "severity and type of learning problem," the "number of children" in the classroom, and the "level of support." Other teachers say children need to be in both special and regular classes.

The question: In your opinion, should children with learning problems be put in the same classrooms with other students, or should they be put in special classes of their own?

Teachers %

Public %

Communication

When it comes to fostering communication between public schools and their constituents, majorities of both teachers and members of the public say that conventional forms of communication are more effective than newer ones, such as Internet chat rooms and hotlines. However, the greatest percentage of teachers (84%) say that newsletters are very or somewhat effective, and the greatest percentage of the public (89%) believes open houses are very or somewhat effective. Elementary teachers perceive open houses and newsletters to be more effective than do middle school and high school teachers, and high school teachers see news hotlines as less effective than their counterparts at other grade levels. Inner-city teachers appear to be more enthusiastic about neighborhood discussion groups than their counterparts in other settings are, and teachers in rural areas tend to be less enthusiastic about everything except newsletters, open houses, and news hotlines. A majority of teachers see all these forms of communication with citizens as somewhat effective, whereas a majority of members of the public believe most of these forms are very effective.

The question: Here are some ways in which public schools try to open lines of communication with citizens. In your opinion, how effective do you think each of the following would be?

		Very and Somewhat Effective		Very Effective	Somewhat Effective	Not Very Effective	Not at All Effective
		Teachers %	Public %	Teachers %	Teachers %	Teachers %	Teachers %

High School Subject Requirements

With a few exceptions, teachers' opinions have not varied over the years since 1984, when teachers were first asked which subjects they would require college- and non-college-bound high school students to take. More than 90% of teachers consistently say that English and mathematics should be required courses for students planning to attend college, and 87% or more say that science and history/U.S. government should be required for these students. Eighty-eight percent of all teachers would require English and mathematics for students who do not intend to go on to college, but fewer teachers this year (77%) than in 1989 (96%) or 1984 (91%) would require history/U.S. government. Science has also slipped in the ranks over the years as a required subject for non-college-bound students: 70% of teachers this year say it should be required, down from 95% in 1989 and 90% in 1984. As might be expected, teachers tend to place a higher priority on industrial arts/homemaking as a required course for non-college-bound students and to place a higher priority on foreign language as a required course for college-bound students.

The first question: If you were the one to decide, which of the following subjects would you require every public high school student who plans to go on to college to take?

1998 %

1989 %

1984 %

The second question: What about those public high school students who do not plan to go on to college when they graduate? Which courses would you require them to take?

1998 %

1989 %

1984 %

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Research Procedure

The Fifth 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 -- 16 taken from the 1998 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools and nine from the 1984 and 1989 polls of teacher 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 8 October 1998. A follow-up postcard was mailed on 23 October 1998. A second cover letter, survey, and return envelope were mailed on 5 November 1998.

The response rate was 18.7%, with 751 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, middle school, and high school teachers; between inner-city, urban, suburban, small-town, and rural teachers; and between teachers from the East, South, Midwest, and West are statistically significant at the 95% confidence level.

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Composition of the Sample

Demographic information provided by respondents indicates that 76% are female, and 24% are male. The mean age of respondents is 43.5 years. Racial/ethnic background information indicates that 92.4% are white, 6% are black, .4% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, .7% are American Indian or Alaskan Native, and .4% are Asian. Nearly 5% are of Hispanic or Latino origin.

Respondents indicated that their highest degree earned was a bachelor's (38%), master's (54%), specialist's (6%), or doctorate (2%). They have taught an average of 16.5 years. Fifty percent indicated they teach at the elementary level, 21% at the middle/junior high school level, 28% at the high school level, and 1% at some other level. Ten percent teach in inner cities, 13% in urban areas, 28% in suburban areas, 31% in small towns, 17% in rural areas, and less than 1% are not sure.

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