Give Me Liberal Arts

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Oct 22, 2001 | by Andrea Billups

RELATED ARTICLE: Americans Optimistic About Public Schools

For the first time in 33 years, a majority of Americans gave their local schools A's and B's, with only 5 percent saying public schools fail to educate their youngsters, according to the annual Phi Delta Kappa/ Gallup poll. Despite their approval, Americans are uncertain and confused about the role standardized tests play in advancing academic achievement.

"Educators going back to work this fall ought to take pride in the fact the American people believe that the public schools are improving," says Jack Jennings, director of the Washington-based Center on Education Policy, which released the national poll. Fifty-one percent gave their public school a grade of A or B; about 30 percent gave a grade of C.

The appropriate use of high-stakes standardized tests to measure student performance remains a "volatile issue," says Lowell Rose, the poll's director. Sixty-three percent favor increased use of standardized tests for measuring student achievement; 53 percent favor the use of a single standardized test to determine grade-to-grade promotion and 57 percent favor a test to determine whether a student should earn a high-school diploma; 45 percent and 42 percent, respectively, oppose such use of tests.

Three-fourths of those surveyed say standardized tests should be used primarily to determine instructional needs; 65 percent say class work and homework are better measures of student achievement than test scores. "We need a full debate on the proper use of testing," concludes Jennings.

Most Americans think George W. Bush will be a better education president than Bill Clinton, and they broadly support Bush's call for increased school accountability. While 51 percent support school vouchers as a remedy in the case of failing public schools, general support for the publicly funded private-school scholarships dropped to 34 percent after highs in 1997 and 1998 of 44 percent.

--AB

Andrea Billups is a staff reporter for Insight's sister publication, the Washington Times.