Education (2)

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Education (p. 2)

Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older, except where noted.

CBS News Poll. April 13-14, 1999. N=878 adults nationwide.
					.
		ALL	Parents	Non- Parents
		%	%	%
Half sample (Form A): "In some schools, there are students with emotional or behavioral problems, such as drinking, drug use or frequent fighting. Overall, do you think it is better FOR THE PROBLEM STUDENTS THEMSELVES to be kept in regular classes or is it better FOR THE PROBLEM STUDENTS THEMSELVES to be separated from other students?"
	Keep them in regular classes	30	34	27
	Separate from other students	56	55	57
	Depends (vol.)	7	7	8
	Don't know/No answer	6	4	8
					.
Half sample (Form B): "In some schools, there are students with emotional or behavioral problems, such as drinking, drug use or frequent fighting. Overall, do you think it is better FOR THE OTHER STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL to keep these students in regular classes or is it better FOR THE OTHER STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL to separate the problem students from other students?"
	Keep them in regular classes	23	23	22
	Separate from other students	67	66	67
	Depends (vol.)	5	7	3
	Don't know/No answer	5	4	8
					.
"If a student frequently gets into fights with other students, do you think that student should be expelled from school, remain in school but put into special classes, or remain in the same class and be punished for each offense as it occurs?"
	Expelled from school	21	21	21
	Put into special classes	48	48	48
	Remain in same class	26	25	26
	Don't know/No answer	5	6	5
					.
"In some communities, children with chronic behavioral problems, such as fighting in school, using drugs, or drinking are removed from the regular school system and placed in an alternative school with other students like themselves. Generally speaking, do you favor or oppose this practice?"
	Favor	64	64	63
	Oppose	30	31	28
	Don't know/No answer	6	5	9
					.
"Some people say that alternative schools for students with serious emotional or behavioral problems help these students by giving them the attention and discipline they need. Other people say these alternative schools only serve to make their problems worse by taking students out of the mainstream and putting them with other problem students. What do you think? Do alternative schools generally help students with emotional or behavioral problems, or do they generally make these students' problems worse?"
	Generally help	49	49	49
	Generally make problems worse	31	32	30
	Don't know/No answer	20	19	21
					.
"Do you think by the time students with emotional and behavioral problems are 16 or 17 years old it is too late to intervene and change their behavior, or can their behavior still be changed if they receive help?"
	Too late	12	12	12
	Can still be helped	85	85	85
	Don't know/No answer	3	3	3
					.
"Would you be willing to pay an additional $100 a year in taxes if the money were to be used to help set up an alternative school in your community?"
	Yes	56	60	53
	No	37	33	40
	Don't know/No answer	7	7	7

Bilingual Education

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll.** May 8-10, 1998. N=1,005 adults nationwide. .
"When there are a large number of non-English speaking students in a public school, these students are usually taught using one of the following two methods. After I read both methods, please tell me which one you prefer: Bilingual education, which means teaching these students their core subjects such as math and history in their native language, while providing them gradual training in how to read and speak English. Immersion, which means teaching these students all of their subjects in English, while giving them intensive training in how to read and speak English."
		%
	Immersion	63
	Bilingual education	33
	Both/Depends (vol.)	1
	Neither/Other (vol.)	1
	No opinion	2

Charter Schools

Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. June 5-29, 2000. N=1,093 adults nationwide.
					.
"As you may know, charter schools operate under a charter or contract that frees them from many of the state regulations imposed on public schools and permits them to operate independently. Do you favor or oppose the idea of charter schools?"
		ALL	Public School Parents
		%	%
	Favor	42	40
	Oppose	47	47
	Don't know	11	13
					.
"Charter schools are, as indicated, usually freed from many of the regulations that govern public schools. As I read each of the following areas, would you tell me whether or not you would be willing to grant an exemption to charter schools in that area? . . ."
		ALL		Public School Parents
		Yes	No	Yes	No
		%	%	%	%
	"Curriculum requirements"	42	53	44	51
	"Use of prescribed textbooks"	59	37	58	38
	"Use of licensed teachers"	57	40	54	43
	"Length of the school day"	57	37	59	36
	"Length of the school year"	58	38	60	35
	"State testing program"	54	43	57	40
	"Accounting for state funds"	50	45	52	42

Drugs

*CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll*. June 21-23, 2002. N=1,020 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
			.
"Do you think school districts should or should not be allowed to test public school students for illegal drugs before those students can participate in non-athletic activities?"
		%
	Should be allowed	70
	Should not be allowed	29
	No opinion	1

Funding Priorities

Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. May 18-June 11, 1999. N=1,103 adults nationwide.
							.
"Here are a number of educational areas that receive government funding. To indicate how high a priority you think each area should have, would you mention a number between one and five -- the higher the number, the higher the priority; the lower the number, the lower the priority?
		1	2	3	4	5	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%	%
	"Update instructional materials and books"	2	2	4	20	72	-
							.
	"School staff development and training"	2	2	8	23	65	-
							.
	"Technology"	2	3	9	25	61	-
							.
	"Keeping teachers' salaries competitive"	2	4	12	28	54	-
							.
	"Class-size reduction"	3	4	16	26	50	1
							.

"As you may know, many of the nation's public schools are in need of renovation and modernization. Thinking about the public schools in your community, how serious do you consider each of the following problems: very serious, somewhat serious, not very serious, or not at all serious?
		Very Serious	Some- what Serious	Not Very Serious	Not At All Serious	Don't Know
		%	%	%	%	%
	"Overcrowding"	47	27	14	9	3
						.
	"School classrooms that are in poor physical condition"	41	23	20	12	4
						.
	"School buildings that are not wired for computers"	37	27	19	11	6

Grading the Schools

Gallup Poll. Aug. 13-16, 2007. N=1,019 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
						.
"Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of education students receive in kindergarten through grade twelve in the U.S. today? Would you say you are completely satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied or completely dissatisfied?"
						.
		Completely Satisfied	Somewhat Satisfied	Somewhat Dissatisfied	Completely Dissatisfied	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	8/13-16/07	7	39	35	16	3
	8/7-10/06	8	37	33	19	3
	8/8-11/05	9	37	35	16	3
	8/9-11/04	10	43	32	13	2
	8/03	8	40	34	16	2
	8/02	7	40	32	18	3
	8/01	10	38	32	17	3
	8/00	7	29	40	21	3
	8/99	8	39	38	13	2

Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. May 28-June 18, 2003. N=1,011 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
							.
		ALL			Public School Parents
		2003	2002	2001	2003	2002	2001
		%	%	%	%	%	%
							.
"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 your community, were graded in the same way. What grade would you give the public schools here: A, B, C, D, or Fail?"
							.
	A & B	48	47	51	55	58	62
	A	11	10	11	17	16	19
	B	37	37	40	38	42	43
	C	31	34	30	31	30	25
	D	10	10	8	10	8	8
	Fail	5	3	5	3	3	4
	Don't know	6	6	6	1	1	1
							.
"How about the public schools in the nation as a whole? What grade would you give the public schools nationally: A, B, C, D, or Fail?"
							.
	A & B	26	24	23	26	20	25
	A	2	2	2	5	2	2
	B	24	22	21	21	18	23
	C	52	47	51	49	51	47
	D	12	13	14	13	11	15
	Fail	3	3	5	2	3	4
	Don't know	7	13	7	10	15	9

Paying for Private Schools

Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. June 5-26, 2002. N=1,000 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
							.
"A proposal has been made that would allow parents to send their school-age children to any public, private, or church-related school they choose. For those parents choosing nonpublic schools, the government would pay all or part of the tuition. Would you favor or oppose this proposal in your state?"
		ALL			Public School Parents
		2002	2001	2000	2002	2001	2000
		%	%	%	%	%	%
	Favor	52	44	45	51	52	47
	Oppose	46	54	52	46	47	51
	Don't know	2	2	3	3	1	2

Associated Press poll conducted by ICR. July 17-21, 2002. N=1,011 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
				.
"Do you support or oppose providing parents in low-income families with tax money in the form of school vouchers to help pay for their children to attend private or religious schools?"
		%
	Support	51
	Oppose	40
	Don't know	9
				.
"Should private schools that accept taxpayer-funded vouchers be required to accept all students who apply, or should they be allowed to choose which ones they accept based on grades, talents or other factors?"
			%
	Required to accept all who apply		56
	Allowed to choose		37
	Don't know		7
				.
"If vouchers were available to help send your child to private school, would you take them or not?" Asked of those with children living at home.
		%
	Yes	45
	No	49
	Don't know	6

ABC News.com Poll. July 11-14, 2002. N=1,017 adults nationwide. MoE � 3. Field work by TNS Intersearch.
			.
"Would you support or oppose having the government give parents in low-income families money to help pay for their children to attend a private or religious school instead of their local public school?"
		%
	Support	50
	Oppose	47
	No opinion	3
			.
	If "Support": "Would you support or oppose that if it meant less money for the public schools?"
		%
	Support	57
	Oppose	42
	No opinion	2

*CNN/USA Today/Gallup Poll*. June 21-23, 2002. N=1,020 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
			.
"Which comes closer to your view? [Rotate:] The government should spend money to assist low-income families who want to send their children to religious schools. OR, The government should spend no money for children to attend religious schools."
		%
	Should spend money	43
	Should spend no money	54
	No opinion	3

Bloomberg News Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Assoc. Feb. 27-March 2, 2001. N=1,200 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
			.
"Now I’d like to ask you about some of the proposals that President Bush has made about what he would do as president. I’d like to know if you favor or oppose each specific proposal and whether or not you think as president Bush can accomplish his goal. ... Bush has proposed giving parents of school children government-funded vouchers that could be used to pay private or parochial school tuition under some circumstances. Do you favor or oppose such a proposal?"
		%
	Favor	55
	Oppose	39
	Don't know	5
			.
"Now, as president, do you think Bush will be able to put in place such a school vouchers program or not?"
		%
	Will be able to	48
	Will not be able to	41
	Don't know	11

*ABC News/Washington* Post Poll**. March 30-April 2, 2000. N=1,083 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
			.
"In areas where the local public schools are not improving, would you support or oppose the federal government giving parents money to send their children to private or religious schools instead?"
		%
	Support	46
	Oppose	51
	No opinion	3

*NBC News/Wall Street Journal* Poll** conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). June 16-19, 1999. N=2,011 adults nationwide:
			.
"Let me read you two positions on school vouchers. Between these positions, which do you tend to side with more? Position A: Government should give parents more educational choices by providing taxpayer-funded vouchers to help pay for private or religious schools. Position B: Government funding should be limited to children who attend public schools."
		%
	A. Should provide vouchers	47
	B. Should limit funding to public schools	47
	Not sure	6

*CNN/Time* Poll** conducted by Yankelovich Partners. March 25, 1999. N=1,049 adults nationwide.
				.
"Should the government spend money to assist families who want to send their children to private or religious schools, or should government money only be spent on children who attend public schools?"
		3/99	8/92
		%	%
	Spend only on public schools	54	64
	Assist private and religious	34	23
	Not sure	12	13

Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. June 5-23, 1998. N=1,151 adults nationwide.
				.
"Congress is currently considering various plans to improve the quality of the nation's public schools in kindergarten though 12th grade. As I read each of the following plans, would you tell me whether you favor or oppose that plan? ... Allowing parents to build tax-free accounts that they would use to pay tuition and other expenses at private and church-related schools."
		ALL	Public School Parents
		%	%
	Favor	68	74
	Oppose	29	25
	Don't know	3	1

Paying for Public Schools

*ABC News/Washington* Post Poll**. March 30-April 2, 2000. N=1,083 adults nationwide. MoE � 3.
			.
"Do you think federal spending on education should be increased, decreased or kept about the same?"
		%
	Increased	65
	Decreased	8
	Kept the same	26
	No opinion	2
			.
"Would you support or oppose a plan to reduce federal education funding to school districts whose students don't improve on standardized tests?"
		%
	Support	36
	Oppose	61
	No opinion	3

Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. June 5-23, 1998. N=1,151 adults nationwide.
					.
"There is always a lot of discussion about the best way to finance the public schools. Which do you think is the best way to finance the public schools: by means of local property taxes, by state taxes, or by taxes from the federal government in Washington?"
		ALL		Public School Parents
		1998	1986	1998	1986
		%	%	%	%
	Local property taxes	21	24	19	28
	State taxes	33	33	31	32
	Federal taxes	37	24	41	28
	Don't know	9	19	9	12
					.
"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?"
		ALL		Public School Parents
		1998	1993	1998	1993
		%	%	%	%
	Willing	66	60	64	62
	Unwilling	30	38	34	37
	Don't know	4	2	2	1

Additional polls on education

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