Parents disagree with lawmakers over reform - Education - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), April, 2002

As education reform is debated by lawmakers in Washington, the sixth annual national survey by Horace Mann Educators Corporation reveals that American parents of school-age children have a different set of concerns than those addressed by the proposed legislation. Lawmakers cite low student achievement as the catalyst for education reform, but parents believe there are more-critical issues facing their local schools. When asked about the biggest challenges facing schools in their area, 62.8% named insufficient funding; 49.2% said overcrowded schools; and 47.8% cited an inadequate number of teachers, compared with 43% who named low student achievement.

Seventy-seven percent do not believe lawmakers in Washington can solve those problems. Just 4.3% feel Federal legislators should have ultimate responsibility for the performance of local schools. Meanwhile, 38.3% said parents should have that responsibility. To a lesser extent, they cited school administrators (19.8%), teachers (13.9%), local taxpayers (10.5%), and local elected officials (8.7%).

The standardized testing that has been endorsed by the Senate and House, the lynchpin of the proposed reform legislation, is a controversial and difficult issue for parents. They are split on whether statewide standardized testing is a fair measure of student performance: 49.6% said it is and 48.5% disagreed. Overall, 57% feel that standardized test scores are not the best way to measure a child's performance in school. They believe grades (33.6%) are the best measure of student performance, followed by standardized test scores (29.4%), high school graduation rates (13.6%), and student behavior (12.9%).

"The views expressed in this survey demonstrate that parents have been left out of the debate about how to improve local schools," indicates Louis G. Lower II, president and CEO of Horace Mann Educators Corporation. "America's parents prefer decisions affecting their children's education be left to parents, schools, and teachers in the local community. They have less confidence that Washington lawmakers understand the problems or can offer viable solutions."

Who Should Have Ultimate Responsibility
for Local School Performance?

Parents                 38.3%
School Administrators   19.8%
Teachers                13.9%
Local Taxpayers         10.5%
Local Officials          8.7%
Washington               4.3%
Don't Know               3.6%
Business Community       0.9%

Note: Table made from pie chart.