Americans broadly favor testing to measure academic performance, as long as it’s not the only benchmark. For instance, most Americans (84 percent) say standardized tests should be used to identify students who need extra help, but far fewer (55 percent) say the scores should decide whether a student gets promoted or graduates. In Public Agenda’s Reality Check 2002, most teachers and parents said it’s wrong to rely on the results of a single test to decide whether a student advances. And majorities of both groups, teachers in particular, believe there is too much emphasis on standardized test scores. Other polls show the majority of Americans oppose using test results as the sole factor in determining whether a school should get federal funds. And half of Americans say class work and homework, rather than test scores, are the best measures of academic achievement. Among the nation’s educators, the majority of teachers and principals have some concerns about standardized testing, but they say the schools ultimately need some kind of standard assessment.

Americans broadly favor standardized tests to assess students and teachers and ensure academic standards

Tags:  education, standardized tests, standards, students, teachers

While most Americans have heard of the No Child Left Behind Act, nearly seven in 10 say they don’t know enough to form an opinion. A double-digit "don’t know" response is considered by survey researchers to be a classic warning sign that an issue may not be well understood and public attitudes may not be stable. Even so, a majority of Americans say the law will improve education. Furthermore, three-quarters of voters say schools will need more money to implement the act and that the federal government should be responsible for providing additional funding. Since very few of the general public has firsthand experience with how the required measures would actually work in the nation’s schools, poll results on this topic should be reported with caution. On the other hand, there are the nation’s school leaders - superintendents and principals - who are largely responsible for implementing NCLB. In our research study, Rolling Up Their Sleeves, we found majorities of superintendents and principals say the law needs some fine tuning before it can work. (For more information about the specifics of the No Child Left Behind Act visit the U.S. Department of Education official NCLB site. Also, you can read our report Where We Are Now: 12 Things You Need to Know about Public Opinion and Public Schools.)

A majority of school administrators say the No Child Left Behind Act will require adjustments before it can work

Tags:  administrators, education, No Child Left Behind

Many Americans admit they are not familiar with school voucher programs – as many as 40 percent in one survey. While polls show support for vouchers has somewhat increased during the past decade, public opinion results often vary depending on how the question is worded. Questions that emphasize giving parents choices about their children's education tend to draw higher levels of support; those that emphasize the idea of students attending private schools at the public’s expense tend to draw less support. When asked what they prefer, majorities say they would favor improving existing schools over providing vouchers. Often survey questions include short explanations of vouchers, charter schools, and other alternatives, but even with this information, many Americans say they do not understand how these proposals work. In one study, Public Agenda found a majority of parents who said they know little or nothing about vouchers even in Milwaukee and Cleveland, where voucher programs have been in place for years. (For more information, you can read our report On Thin Ice.)

Seven in 10 Americans say they would prefer improving existing schools over providing vouchers for private or ...

Tags:  education, parents, private, public schools, vouchers