IMPROVING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

The 29th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll Of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools Illustration by Fred Bell

Since some of the proposals being considered for improving student achievement call for alternatives to the public schools, the initial question, in effect, asked whether people would prefer reform or revolution. The answer is clear: 71% of those responding believe that reform should come through the existing system. This response is uniform across demographic categories.

The question:

In order to improve public education in America, some people think the focus should be on reforming the existing public school system. Others believe the focus should be on finding an alternative to the existing public school system. Which approach do you think is preferable -- reforming the existing public school system or finding an alternative to the existing public school system?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Reforming existing system	71	70	72	67
Finding alternative system	23	23	24	32
Don't know	6	7	4	1

Improving Student Achievement

The question most directly aimed at discovering what the public believes will improve student achievement offered respondents the opportunity to evaluate 10 proposals. A majority of the public assigns either a great deal or quite a lot of importance to eight of them. However, two frequently mentioned reform proposals -- lengthening the school year and lengthening the school day -- could garner support from only 38% and 25% of respondents respectively.

With relatively few exceptions, there is little difference in the way subgroups in the national population view these measures. However, 75% of blacks (compared to 50% for the national population) feel that placing a computer in every classroom would improve student achievement a great deal. In addition, 59% of blacks and 51% of nonwhites believe that allowing parents and children to attend the public school of their choice would improve student achievement a great deal; the corresponding figure for the nation as a whole is just 39%.

Indeed, blacks favor many of the national reforms proposed in recent years to a much greater extent than does the general population. For example, blacks are more likely to believe that student achievement will be improved a great deal by establishing national standards (58% to 41%), by establishing a national curriculum (58% to 35%), by using standardized tests to measure achievement (52% to 36%), and by providing health-care services in the public schools (65% to 35%).

The question:

Here is a list of measures that have been proposed for improving the academic achievement of public school students. As I read each one, would you tell me whether you believe that measure would improve the achievement of the students in the local public schools a great deal, quite a lot, not very much, or not at all?

	A Great Deal or Quite a Lot %	A Great Deal %	Quite a Lot %	Not Very Much %	Not Much At All %	Don't Know %
Placing a computer in every classroom	81	50	31	13	5	1
Establishing national standards for measuring the academic performance of the public schools	77	41	36	15	6	2
Moving persistent "troublemakers" into alternative schools	75	43	32	14	9	2
Allowing parents and students to attend the public school of their choice	73	39	34	18	7	2
Using standardized national tests to measure the academic achievement of students	67	36	31	23	8	2
Grouping students in classes according to ability level	66	34	32	19	13	2
Establishing a national curriculum	66	35	31	20	10	4
Providing health-care services in schools	61	35	26	25	12	2
Lengthening the school year	38	18	20	33	27	2
Lengthening the school day	25	12	13	38	35	2

State Takeovers

In some states the administration of faltering or failing schools is taken over by the state. People were asked what effect they thought such a move would have on student achievement in the schools in their community. The public is split on this question; 43% believe such a takeover would have no effect, and the rest are evenly divided on whether achievement would improve or get worse.

The question:

Some states have taken over the administration of schools in local school districts where the public schools were considered to be doing a poor job. What effect do you think takeover by the state would have on the academic achievement of students in a public school in your community? Do you think their academic achievement would improve, get worse, or do you think it wouldn't have much effect on their academic achievement?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Would improve	25	24	25	46
Would get worse	26	25	27	27
Wouldn't have much effect	43	45	42	25
Don't know	6	6	6	2

School-Starting Age and Part-Time Work

The current poll probed people's beliefs about the effect on student achievement of starting school a year earlier and of holding a part-time job. There is no consensus on either question. Thirty-seven percent of respondents believe that starting school a year earlier would improve student achievement, 24% disagree, and 37% believe it would make no difference. Blacks are more than twice as likely as whites (75% to 31%) to believe that starting school earlier would improve student achievement.

On the question of starting age, three-fourths of Americans would have students start school at age 5 or under. Twenty-six percent would have them start at age 4 or under. Groups in the national population that most strongly support having children start school at age 4 or under include blacks (64%), nonwhites (59%), 18- to 29-year-olds (40%), and urban residents (35%).

Data on public school parents reveal a pattern similar to that for the national population. Sixty-four percent of black parents would prefer a school starting age of 4 or under (compared to 30% for all parents), as would 57% of 18- to 29-year-old parents and 61% of nonwhite parents.

The first question:

In your opinion, what effect would starting a child a year younger than is now generally the case have on the child's academic achievement in elementary and in high school? Do you think starting a year younger would improve the child's achievement, make it worse, or wouldn't it make much difference?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Improve achievement	37	35	40	37
Make it worse	24	22	25	39
Not much difference	37	40	33	23
Don't know	2	3	2	1

The second question:

At what age do you think students should start school?

	National Totals		No Children in School		Public School Parents		Nonpublic School Parents
	'97 %	'86 %	'97 %	'86 %	'97 %	'86 %	'97 %	'86 %
4 years (or under)	26	29	24	29	30	27	27	29
5 years	49	41	50	40	47	44	44	42
6 years	21	18	22	18	19	20	16	23
7 years (or over)	3	2	3	1	3	2	11	*
Don't know	1	10	1	12	1	7	2	6
*Less than one-half of 1%.

The third question:

What effect do you feel having a part-time job outside of school has on the academic achievement of students in the public schools in this community? Generally speaking, do you feel having a part-time job improves their academic achievement, hurts their academic achievement, or do you feel it does not affect their academic achievement one way or the other?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Improves achievement	29	31	28	16
Hurts achievement	32	32	30	44
Does not affect achievement	35	34	37	37
Don't know	4	3	5	3

Improving Schools

People frequently ask, ''Why are some schools better than others?'' This year poll respondents were asked to rate the importance of three factors sometimes offered to explain such differences. The public considers the amount of support from parents of students in the local public schools to be the most important factor in making a school better. However, the amount of money spent on the local public schools is a close second. The kinds of students attending the local public schools is regarded as either quite important or very important by two-thirds of the public but is not considered as important as the other two factors.

The question:

Here are some factors that are sometimes mentioned to explain why the public schools in some places are better than those in others. As I read off each one, would you tell me whether you think that factor is very important, quite important, not very important, or not at all important in determining the quality of the local public schools?

	Very Important %	Quite Important %	Not Very Important %	Not at All Important %	Don't Know %
Amount of support from parents of students in the local public schools	86	11	3	*	*
Amount of money spent on the local public schools	62	29	6	2	1
Kinds of students attending the local public schools	41	26	20	9	4
*Less than one-half of 1%.

	Percent Responding ''Very Important''
	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Amount of support from parents of students in the local public schools	86	84	88	92
Amount of money spent on the local public schools	62	59	67	63
Kinds of students attending the local public schools	41	39	45	52

President Clinton's Proposals

President Clinton has offered three proposals designed to improve schools, enhance student achievement, or provide incentives for students to succeed in school. These proposals are currently before Congress and may or may not become law.

While all the proposals made by President Clinton attract majority support, the strongest support (82%) is for the proposed tax credit for the parents of first-year college students. This proposal has already been debated in Congress, with the Administration indicating a willingness to compromise on the need for a B average as a condition for second-year aid. Support for the proposal is strong among all groups in the poll.

Two-thirds of the public (66%) favor the proposal for placing a computer with access to the Internet in every public school classroom. Groups strongly in favor of the proposal include blacks (85%), nonwhites (83%), 18- to 29-year-olds (78%), and those in the $50,000 and over income range (78%).

The President's testing proposal has the least support and, based on past experience, is likely to generate the most controversy.

The first question:

President Clinton has proposed a tax credit for families with an annual income of $100,000 or less for each first-year college student. The $1,500 tax credit would also apply to the second year if the student maintained a B average and had no conviction for drugs. In general, do you favor or oppose this proposal?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Favor	82	79	87	88
Oppose	17	20	12	12
Don't know	1	1	1	*
*Less than one-half of 1%.

The second question:

President Clinton has proposed a five-year, two-billion-dollar program that would place a computer with access to the Internet in every public school classroom in the nation. In general, do you favor or oppose this proposal?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Favor	66	64	70	73
Oppose	32	34	29	26
Don't know	2	2	1	*

The third 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?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Favor	57	56	59	53
Oppose	37	37	37	42
Don't know	6	7	4	5

Achievement Testing

Testing and its role in school improvement is a frequent subject of debate. Respondents this year were asked their opinion of the level of emphasis on testing in their local public schools. Forty-eight percent responded that the emphasis is about right. The rest were divided between too much and too little. These responses were consistent among all demographic groups.

The question:

In your opinion, is there too much emphasis on achievement testing in the public schools in this community, not enough emphasis on testing, or about the right amount?

	National Totals %	No Children in School %	Public School Parents %	Nonpublic School Parents %
Too much emphasis	20	20	19	24
Not enough emphasis	28	28	26	42
About the right amount	48	46	54	32
Don't know	4	6	1	2

Last updated: 25 August 1997
URL: http://www.pdkintl.org/kpoll97b.htm
Contact: bucheri@pdkintl.org

Copyright 1997 Phi Delta Kappan