Polls of parental attitudes about education can give guidance to those of us researching, dissecting, and commenting on education issues—clueing us in on issues of concern and, more importantly, helping framing those issues in ways which resonate with the general public. Education Post, a newish education-based communications network whose mission is to “cut through the noise” and to foster “straight talk,” published just such a poll earlier this month. As similar efforts have shown, poll respondents (1,800 “school parents” nationwide) feel better about their own children’s education than they do about the “education system” at large. Eighty-four percent of parents were either “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their child’s school. But when asked about the education system broadly, 60 percent thought there were “some changes” that needed to be made, while 33 percent thought that the system needed a “complete overhaul.” A mere 3 percent of respondents thought that the system was “fine as is.” When asked about specific changes to improve “the system,” 88 percent supported “higher standards and a more challenging curriculum,” 78 percent supported “expanding the number of charter schools so parents have more options,” 93 percent supported “more accountability for teachers and principals,” and 84 percent supported “teacher evaluations that use test scores, classroom observations, and surveys from parents and students to help teachers improve.” In short, education reformers’ current interests are all namechecked and given support with the polling data. But this latest poll is no more likely to be reformers’ manna from heaven than previous such polls were. Education Post posits that the support for reform breaks down in the rhetoric and the approach. For example, the term “reform” was considered by respondents as antagonistic toward parents and their schools and would be better replaced with the term “improvement.” And while it is important to know how to explain “improvements” to those living with them, it could just be semantics—how the question is asked determines the response in some measure. Personally, I’m with the good folks in Cleveland who seem to have found the right balance between “reform” and “improvement”; they’ve called it the Cleveland Plan.
SOURCE: Education Post poll, national attitudes around education issues, improvements and institutions, conducted by Douglas E. Schoen, LLC, Education Post, October 9, 2014
