The fifth annual Education Next-PEPG Survey was released last week, which focuses on American opinions on education and the teaching profession. The survey interviewed a nationally representative sample of 2,600 people, with special attention paid to the affluent (defined as college graduates who are in the top income decile in their state) and full-time teachers working in public schools. Special attention was paid to these two groups because they “pay more attention to public education and participate more actively in school politics than the general public.”
The survey’s findings indicate “more stability than change in public opinion” over the five years the survey has been administered, suggesting that the policy developments of the past year were not caused by, nor have they produced, broad changes in popular views. The one exception is support for school vouchers, which until this year had been on the decline.
The curtailment of collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin led to a flurry of responses from teachers, politicians, and other state workers; however, public opinion on teachers’ rights issues has remained essentially unchanged. Thirty-eight percent of the general public thinks teachers’ unions have no effect on public schools, similar to the 42 percent who thought so in 2009. However, this is in marked contrast to the views of both the affluent and teachers: 58 percent of teachers think unions have a positive effect, while 56 percent of the affluent believe they have a negative effect.
The rest of the survey findings for general public opinions are as follows:
– Teacher tenure: opposition ticked upward slightly from 47% to 49%. If tenure is to be given at all, 55% believe it should be based on student academic progress.
– Merit pay: 47% agree with merit pay based on student academic progress, resembling no change from the 2007 survey.
– Teacher compensation: 55% believe salaries should increase, similar to 2009 opinions. However, when told the average teacher’s salary in their state, respondent support for increased compensation falls to 43%.
When asked to choose between increasing teacher salaries or reducing class sizes by 3 students (each option costing about $10,000), 44% of respondents chose reducing class sizes.
– Teacher certification: 42 % of Americans support allowing principals to hire college graduates, regardless of formal teaching credentials, if they believe they will be effective in the classroom.
– Public schools: 22% of respondents gave public schools overall a grade of ‘A’ or ‘B,’ while 25% gave ‘Ds’ and ‘Fs.’ However, when asked about their own local schools, 46% of respondents gave a grade of A or B.
– Funding: 59% of respondents believe more money should be spent on public schools; however when respondents were told the average amount spent per student, support for increased spending fell to 46%. Additionally, only 28% of Americans support increasing taxes to support their local schools.
The results of this survey were poignantly summarized by Mike Petrilli at the Education Gadfly: “Many people complain that our schools aren’t responsive to public demands, but the opposite seems true. The public wants small classes and is less concerned about paying teachers well; that’s exactly the system we’ve got.”
To read the full survey and view the questions, visit http://educationnext.org/the-public-weighs-in-on-school-reform/
