2008 PDK Gallup Poll Results

2008 PDK Gallup Poll Results
8/29/2008 9:10 AM

Americans say U.S. students and schools outperformed by other nations;
Fewer than 2 in 10 think NCLB should be continued without significant change

To download a one page summary or the complete survey results,
scroll to the PDF documents at the bottom of this page.

BLOOMINGTON, IN – For the first time in eight years, Americans view one presidential candidate as more supportive of public schools than the other, according to the 40th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward Their Public Schools. The poll, which is conducted annually by Phi Delta Kappa International, a global association of education professionals, in conjunction with the Gallup organization, also asked Americans about No Child Left Behind and other public education issues.

In the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, Americans were split equally on which presidential candidate would be more supportive of the public schools. However, when asked this year who they would vote for if they were voting on the basis of a desire to strengthen the public schools, 46 percent chose Democratic candidate Barack Obama and 29 percent chose Republican candidate John McCain.

When it comes to NCLB, the national education law enacted in 2002, there’s been relatively little change in Americans’ knowledge of the law and their opinion about it during the past three years. Only one in four Americans believe the legislation is helping schools in their local communities. And if a school is labeled as failing under the law’s accountability standards, equal numbers of Americans would blame the law as would blame the school.

“Regardless of who our next president is, given the results of this poll, we predict a healthy debate in 2009 about the appropriate federal role in America's schools,” said William Bushaw, executive director of PDK International and co-director of the PDK/Gallup poll with Alec Gallup, president of Gallup Poll.

This year’s PDK/Gallup poll asked Americans about national education standards, federal funding for public schools, the best way to measure student achievement, and how U.S. schools compare with schools in other countries. Here’s what they said:

Americans believe that U.S. high school students compare favorably to students in other developed countries in terms of their creativity and problem-solving abilities. However, Americans are less confident that the reading and writing skills of American high school students compare favorably to students globally, and they believe that high school students in other countries rank much higher in mathematics and science skills than American students.
Americans like the schools in their local community, but they perceive schools in Europe and Asia as superior. Only 22% gave American schools an A or B, while 48% gave European schools an A or B and 52% gave Asian schools an A or B.
Americans are warming to the idea of national education standards, but they believe state-level education leaders should work together to develop these standards. 50% said they prefer national standards, and 46% said they prefer state standards. Interestingly, when substituting the words “common expectations” for standards, 62% favored one set of expectations nationwide, while 36% favored common expectations set by each state.
When addressing the issue of who should create national standards, 62% said state-level leaders working together, 22% said the U.S. Department of Education, and 10% said a federally-appointed panel.
Americans favor an increased use of federal funds to finance public schools and also to support young people who have the desire and academic ability to attend college. 37% said they would like to see federal taxes fund public schools, 35% said state taxes, and 20% said local taxes. And 86% favored more state and federal assistance for students who have the ability and desire to attend college but not enough money.
Americans increasingly believe that our young people should not only finish high school, but that many of them will need some college instruction — instruction that they believe can and should begin in high school. 87% said they favor allowing students to earn college credits while still in high school.
Americans are losing faith in standardized tests and believe there are better ways to measure a child's academic and other skills. 32% believe that examples of student work are the most accurate measure of a student’s achievement, and 25% believe teacher observations are most accurate.
Americans favor national teacher certification, teacher career ladders, and incentives for teaching in “high need” schools, but they are almost equally split on whether teacher’s salaries should be linked to student standardized test scores. 70% said teachers should be paid higher salaries to teach in schools that are in need of improvement.

CONTACTS: Joan Richardson, 800-766-1156 ext. 2317, jrichardson@pdkintl.org
Chloe Louvouezo, 202-955-9450 ext. 320, clouvouezo@communicationworks.com

More poll data, including a video in which Americans were asked to respond to some of the poll questions, is available at www.pdkeducationpoll.org.

Summary_08_PDK_Gallup_Poll.pdf

Complete_08_PDK_Gallup_Poll.pdf

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