Public Schools Get Middling Grades

March 31, 2006

Public Schools Get Middling Grades

By Tara Regan

A majority of Americans (61%) believe that public schools in this country are in a "crisis" according to the latest Time Poll conducted in association with the Oprah Winfrey Show.

A little more than half (55%) are dissatisfied with the public schools in the US, with only about two-in-five (39%) satisfied. Dissatisfieds include a majority of whites (55%) and non-whites (57%).

The U.S. education system doesn't stack up favorably compared to many other countries as well, according to this national sample of 1,000 American adults. Only 1 in 4 (25%) rank the American education system one of the top 5 internationally. About 4 in 10 (39%) rank the U.S. below the top 10 education systems.

Public School Report Card: Middling "C"
If the public were grading U.S. public schools, about 3-in-5 (61%), would give them a grade of "C" or less. A little more than 2-in-5 (44%) give US public schools a "C" grade with a little less than 1-in-5 giving schools a "D" (10%) or "F" (7%) grade. A little more than one-third (36%) give public schools grades of "B" (31%) or a straight "A" (5%).

Worse Compared to 20 Years Ago
About half (52%) believe that public schools have gotten worse compared to 20 years ago. Only about one quarter (26%) believe that schools have gotten better and about one-in-five (18%) believe they have stayed the same.

More than half (57%) do not think that public schools are teaching students the skills needed for our economy in the 21^st century, with only about 2-in-5 (38%) believing the schools are teaching the necessary skills.

Dissatisfaction with the state of education increases slightly with age.

Older Americans are slightly more likely to believe that public schools have gotten worse in the last 20 years (56% age 45 or older vs. 46% age 44 or younger).

Who Is to Blame?
There is no clear consensus on who is most to blame for this school crisis. About one-quarter (24%) blame lack of funds for public schools failing to improve standardized test scores. About one-in-five (21%) put the blame on parents. Others point the finger at school districts (18%), students (14%) and the teachers (11%).

Own Public Schools Rate Better
Although a majority of Americans would give US public schools only a fair grade at best, those who currently have children in public school (grade K through 12) rate their schools more favorably:

Almost 7-in-10 (69%) would give their own child's public school a grade of "B" (46%) or a straight "A" (23%). A little more than one-in-five (21%) give their child�s school a "C" grade; 10% would give a "D" (7%) or "F" (3%).

A little more than 3-in-5 (62%) believe that their child in public school is being adequately prepared for college. About one-third (33%) disagree.

More Spending on Education
About two-thirds (64%) think that the U.S. is spending too little on public schools, with about one-in-five (22%) saying we are spending the right amount. One-in-ten (10%) believe we are spending too much.

Almost 3-in-5 (59%) are willing to pay higher taxes to improve the state of public schools, with almost 2-in-5 (38%) unwilling.

However, older Americans and those without children in school are less willing to pay higher taxes to improve public schools:

Americans age 65 and older are more likely to say they are not willing to pay higher taxes to improve public schools than their younger counterparts (47% age 65 and older vs. 34% age 44 or younger).

Similarly those with public school age children are more likely to say they are willing to pay higher taxes to improve public schools than those without (67% vs. 56%).

Many Would Switch Schools
If parents with children in public school had the choice of sending them to a different school in their area, a little more than half (57%) would not switch schools. About 2-in-five (40%) would switch their children to a different school.

The desire to switch schools is higher among lower income Americans:

43% with less than 50K income would switch vs. 32% with greater than $50K income)

Dropping Out
Most Americans (89%) agree that the high school dropout rate in America is an "extremely" (42%) or "somewhat" (47%) serious problem. Most estimate the American high school graduation rate at approximately 70%. There is no clear consensus among Americans as to which factors are most important in understanding why students drop out of high school. The following reasons were deemed "very important" as to why students drop out:

The students are not motivated (27%)

They have problems at home (25%)

The schools/teachers aren�t very good (14%)

Need to work to earn money (12%)

Class work is too difficult (4%)

Why Drop Out?
About 7-in-10 of high school drop-outs (70%) say they regret their decision. Almost 3-in-10 (28%) do not regret their decision to drop out.

Among high school drop-outs there are a variety of reasons for their decision. The most frequently mentioned include:

Needed to work to earn money (24%)

Problems at home (15%)

Pregnancy (13%)

Lack of motivation to finish school (11%)

School wasn�t very good (5%)

Gender and Dropping Out
Men and women differ in their reasons for dropping out of high school. Men are more likely than women to drop out because they need to earn money (38% men vs. 9% women) and because their school wasn't very good (10% vs. 0%). Women are more likely to drop out because of pregnancy (26%) and problems at home (24% vs. 7%).

Curbing the Drop-out Rate
Most high school graduates attribute their own desire to succeed or go to college (46%) as the reason why they finished school. About one quarter (26%) attribute it to their parents' or family's involvement and encouragement. About one quarter (26%) believe both contributed.

Many Americans believe motivating students to stay in school begins at home. About half (50%) think that increased parental involvement by offering training to parents on how to keep children in school is a "very effective" measure to increasing the HS graduation rate. Other measures deemed "very effective" include:

Making truancy enforcement stronger to cut down on the number of children skipping school without an excuse (46% very important)

Outlaw dropping out of school under the age of 18 (33%)

Less popular measures include:

Penalizing the parents of students who don�t finish high school (18% very important)

Lowering academic standards so that more children can graduate (7%)

Dropping Out and the Law
Almost 2-in-5 (38%) think that students should be at least 18 years old before they should be allowed to drop out. About one-in-ten think either 16 (12%) or 17 (11%).

With regard to the role that the government should play, about 3-in-5 (62%) think the government should forbid students younger than 18 from dropping out of school, with a little more than one-third (35%) disagreeing. Even more (69%) think the federal government should pass laws making it illegal to leave school before the age of 16 (28% disagree).

Deny Dropouts Driver's Licenses

About two-thirds (65%) think the state should be allowed to deny driver's licenses to students younger than 18 who choose to leave school, until they turn of age. About one-third (32%) disagree and think the state should not be allowed to deny driver's licenses.

However, most Americans (64%) would not deny child work permits to dropouts younger than age 18. Only about one-third (33%) believe the state should be allowed to deny work permits to dropouts under 18.

GED vs. High School Diploma
Most Americans agree that a General Education Development Certificate (GED) is not as good as a high school diploma (60% not as good vs. 37% as good). An even larger gap exists in terms of the opportunities a GED provides compared to a high school diploma (64% say a GED does not provide as many opportunities- 29% say it does).

No Child Left Behind: Divided Opinion
About five years after Congress passed President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" Act, only a little more than half (57%) say they know a "great deal" (17%) or "some" (40%) about it. About 2-in-5 (42%) say they do not know much or anything about it. Not surprisingly, those with children in school are more likely to have knowledge of the Act (61% - 55%).

Americans are divided on the impact that the "No Child Left Behind" Act has had on education. A little more than one-third (35%) think the Act has had a positive impact on education. A similar number (35%) think it has not had much impact. About one-quarter say the impact has been negative (23%). Again, those with children in school are more likely to believe the act has had a positive impact (39% - 32%). <\p>

The public is also split on standardized achievement testing in schools. A little more than two-in-five (44%) think too much emphasis is placed on standardized testing and about two-in-five (39%) think the right amount of emphasis is being placed. About one-in-ten (11%) think too little emphasis is placed on testing. <\p>

College Track Not For All
A vast majority (88%) think that not all students should be required to pursue a college track and that students should be offered the opportunity to take vocational education instead.

About half (51%) favor more money for vocational education in schools. About one third (33%) think the right amount of money is being spent on this and 4% think less should be spent.

Methodology

This Time Magazine poll was conducted by telephone between March 28 and March 30, 2006 among a national random sample of 1,000 adults, age 18 and older throughout America.

The margin of error for the entire sample is approximately +/- 3 percentage points. The margin of error is higher for subgroups. Surveys are subject to other error sources as well, including sampling coverage error, recording error, and respondent error.

36% with children in school (Grades K through 12)

31% with children in public school (Grades K through 12)

Schulman, Ronca, & Bucuvalas (SRBI) Public Affairs designed the survey and conducted all interviewing. The full Time questionnaire and trend data may be found in the related link below.

Related Link

Time Magazine/SRBI Survey Questionnaire and Frequencies