The 30th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

CONFIDENCE IN INSTITUTIONS

It seemed appropriate to close this poll with a question seeking to find out how much confidence Americans have in the institutions that serve them. This is the last of the three questions that the Gallup Organization chose to include in its regular poll in order to reduce bias. The public schools fared reasonably well in this comparison, with 42% of respondents expressing either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in them. They came in second only to the church or organized religion (57%).

The percentage of public school parents expressing either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the public schools is 47%, almost identical to the 46% who award the schools in their communities a grade of A or B. In regular polls conducted by the Gallup Organization since 1980, the percentage of total respondents expressing either a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the public schools has ranged from a high of 50% in 1987 to a low of 34% in 1994.

The question:

Now I am going to read you a list of institutions in American society. Please tell me how much confidence you, yourself, have in each one ­ a great deal, quite a lot, some, or very little?

	Great Deal/ Quite a Lot	Great Deal	Quite a Lot	Some	Very Little	None (volunteered)	Don't Know
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
The church or organized religion	57	30	27	27	11	3	2
Public schools	42	16	26	35	20	2	1
Local government	37	13	24	41	20	1	1
State government	36	13	23	45	17	1	1
Big business	31	13	18	42	22	2	3
National government	30	11	19	43	22	2	3
Criminal justice system	29	12	17	37	30	4	*
Organized labor	26	13	13	39	28	3	4
*Less than one-half of 1%.

TOPICS:

Introduction to the Poll
Public Versus Nonpublic Schools
Grading the Schools
Effectiveness of Public Schools
Improving the Nation's Inner-City Schools
Politics and the Public Schools
Problems Facing the Public Schools
School Operation/Curriculum
Impact of Unions
The Public's Knowledge of Local Schools
Confidence in Institutions
Closing Comments
How to Order the Poll
Research Procedure
Sampling Tolerances
Design and Composition of the Sample
Conducting Your Own Poll

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