Americans speak out on schools
Well, I just got back from the national Education Writers Assocation conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., an annual gathering for those of us who write about education. It was a great learning experience and I'd like to share some of what I learned with you.
ETS, a national testing and research organization, gave a preview of its fifth annual Americans Speak on Public Education poll. Here are some of the highlights:
- Only 26 percent of U.S. adults gave public schools a grade of an A or B. Nearly half of Americans, when asked, gave the schools a C and 19 percent said they deserve a D or F.
- However, when asked about their own child's school, parents have a completely different opinion: 62 percent said their school deserves an A or B. In other words, people think their own school is great, but other schools aren't. That held true across racial and economic lines.
- No Child Left Behind, the sweeping federal school reform law, divides teachers and the public. In general, the poll found Americans favor NCLB, which holds schools accountable for student performance. NCLB was most favored by folks who identified themselves as Republicans, mothers of K-12 students and/or rural and small-town parents. But 75 percent of high school teachers said they opposed the law's new standards.
- One catchphrase you hear from educators is, "Every child can learn." What they mean is that all students and schools should be held to the same standard, no matter if they are poor.
Nearly 60 percent of K-12 parents said expectations should be the same for all schools. But only 26 percent of high school teachers said they felt this way.
Comments (7)
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Glad to see we are finally back on education. Bruce, I find this very interesting-- What are the standards that the schools were graded on? I think my school would get an a in some things a d in others.
What I think is the strangest is that HS teachers don't think all schools should be held to the same standard. Wonder why? Is it too late to help kids when they get to 9th grade? ARe the teachers not able to help? I am not being mean, I am asking with all seriousness.
Posted on May 10, 2005 1:05 PM
Yeah, I'm glad to get back to education, too!
The grades weren't on any specific standard. It was just an overall impression on how people think the schools are performing.
And I'm not sure why high school teachers feel this way. Do we have any teachers out there who would like to speak to this?
Posted on May 10, 2005 1:20 PM
Public Agenda (I think, and maybe others) has done similar surveys in the past and come up with similar results ("My kid's school rocks. The rest of them? Meh.")
I've always been fascinated by that disconnect. Never could figure out exactly why, though.
Posted on May 10, 2005 3:59 PM
Do you think the disconnect is in the fact that most people want to 'think' that their kid is doing great so therefore they must go to a good school; or maybe some of us are close to the issue and don't see the warts that each and every school has? Or maybe my warts aren't as ugly as yours?
Posted on May 10, 2005 5:24 PM
"Nearly 60 percent of K-12 parents said expectations should be the same for all schools. But only 26 percent of high school teachers said they felt this way."
I'm a high school teacher presently, but I have also worked at the middle school level. To be honest, I'm not sure why there is this contrast between high school teachers and other teachers on this issue. I know that high school teachers often feel more pressure to help kids succeed because of AP tests, IB tests, PSATs, SATS, and the regular EOGs. There is also the added concern about students dropping out. Even so, I still believe that there should be a standard that all high schools must meet. What do other high school teachers think about this quote?
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