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posted by: Alix
| September 13, 2010, 03:17 PM
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Last week Time Magazine released a thought-provoking poll of 1,000 randomly sampled Americans from across the country on sentiments toward education and the wave of reforms sweeping the country.
Although 67% of Americans believe the schools systems are in “crisis”, optimism remains strong. Ninety percent of those polled believe it is, in fact, possible to turn it all around, answering affirmatively to, “Do you think it is possible to make changes that would dramatically improve student performance in our public schools — or do you think this is a problem that is impossible to solve?”
Surprisingly, of those polled, 56% are actually willing to pay higher taxes to fix the problems in education.
What are the solutions you ask? While 61% of those surveyed believe teachers are underpaid, 70% believe in merit pay for highly performing teachers, as well as 64% supporting evaluations based on standardized tests. Support for tenure is lacking with 66% of respondents believing tenure is unnecessary.
One of the most intriguing answers relates to the unions. Of the everyday Americans surveyed, only 35% believe the “Teachers unions help make schools better”, 15% are unsure, and 50% assert “Teachers unions are an obstacle that keeps schools from getting better.”
This poll comes at a time in the education reform debate when policy makers and teachers are engaged in finding real solutions. It’s interesting to see everyday Americans across the country are listening to this dialogue and forming their own opinions.
Do you think this poll rings true to American opinions on education?
Comment below.
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