kpoll283.htm

Reference: Phi Delta Kappan/September 1996/Volume 78/Number 1/Page 41/File 3 of 12

The 28th Annual
Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll
Of the Public's Attitudes
Toward the Public Schools

(Continued)

By Stanley M. Elam, Lowell C. Rose, and Alec M. Gallup

Category 2.

Grading Aspects of the Public Schools

Just what features of a public school does a respondent have in mind when he or she assigns a grade? To find out, respondents were asked to rate 11 school characteristics on the familiar A-F scale.

Ratings are generally positive among all demographic groups, with parents of public school children making the most positive assessments. Almost seven in 10 public school parents (68%) give the curriculum offered an A or a B, and about six in 10 give the following factors an A or a B: the quality of teaching (61%), handling of extracurricular activities (61%), the books and instructional materials (60%), the physical plant and facilities (59%), and the education received by students (58%). About half of public school parents give the local public schools an A or a B for preparing students for college (51%) and for the way the schools are administered or run (49%).

However, only about one in three public school parents gives the way discipline is handled and the behavior of students in schools a grade of A or B. Parents give even lower grades to the preparation given to students not planning to go to college: only 28% give the public schools an A or a B for performance in this area -- an area for which the public schools have consistently received poor grades in these polls.

Significantly, the grades given by public school parents for these same indicators of quality are substantially higher today than was the case in 1983. With the single exception of the "physical plant and facilities," a factor that scores lower today than in 1983, all characteristics are graded higher by public school parents in 1996 than a decade ago.

Nonpublic Schools

Nonpublic schools, both religiously affiliated and nonsectarian, serve approximately 6.1 million of the 54.1 million elementary and secondary school students in the U.S. Because Phi Delta Kappa has traditionally focused on public schools, these polls have not until now examined attitudes toward the nation's nonpublic schools. The emphasis on school choice and vouchers in the current poll suggested the value of obtaining ratings of private schools, using the same grading scale applied to public schools.

Americans rate the nonpublic schools in their community substantially higher than the public schools. Sixty-three percent give the local nonpublic schools a grade of A or B, compared to 43% for the local public schools. Not surprisingly, Catholics are the demographic group most likely to give local nonpublic schools top grades (74%). The lowest ratings come from public school parents. Fifty-three percent give the nonpublic schools in their communities an A or a B -- slightly lower, in fact, than the comparable figure for the local public schools (57%).

As they do with the public schools, the people grade the nonpublic schools nationally somewhat lower than they grade the local nonpublic schools. The difference is much less pronounced, however, in the case of nonpublic schools: 63% give the local nonpublic schools a grade of A or B, compared to 57% for the nation's nonpublic schools. A large difference emerges, however, when the grades given to the nation's nonpublic schools are compared with those given the nation's public schools. While 57% of Americans award the nonpublic schools nationally either an A or a B, only 21% give the nation's public schools such high grades.