EdNext Survey Examines Perceptions on School Reform

This survey examines current attitudes toward major issues in K–12 education and compare the results with those of prior years.

Key findings include:

1. Public support for charter schools has fallen, along with both self-described Republicans and self-described Democrats, and the opposition to school vouchers and tax credits to fund private-school scholarships.

2. Support for using the same academic standards across the states has risen since 2016—as long as the “brand name” of Common Core is not mentioned.

3. Compared with 2015, the public prefers a smaller role in education for the federal government and a larger role for local governments in three policy areas: setting standards, identifying failing schools, and fixing failing school.

4. The public is showing an increased resistance to change when it comes to policies affecting teachers.

5. Trump’s position on four issues—Common Core, charter schools, tax credits, and merit pay.

6.  Two thirds of the public prefer that students whose native tongue is not English be immersed in English-only classrooms.

7. Nearly half of the respondents think the effects would be positive if students spent more time on computers at school, while a third think the effect would be negative.

8. The general public is more favorable toward allowing Muslim students to form afterschool clubs than it was in 2008.

9. Two thirds of the public would have their child pursue a four-year university degree, while only a fourth would choose a two-year associate’s degree at a community college, and a tenth would choose neither.

10. Among white respondents, over half of those with a university degree say their local schools deserve a “grade” of A or B, while only half of those without that degree rate their local schools that highly.

EdNext (2017). The 2017 EdNext Poll on School Reform: What does the public think about school choice, Common Core, and other key issues? Washington, D. C.: Hoover Institution in Washington, D.C.: The Johnson Center. http://educationnext.org/2017-ednext-poll-school-reform-public-opinion-school-choice-common-core-higher-ed/#_schoolchoice