Why school? The 48th Annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

Abstract

Why school? The 48th Annual PDK Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools included questions about the purpose of schooling, standards, homework, school funding, and parents' relationships with their schools. The 2016 poll, which was conducted by Langer Research Associates, was based on a telephone poll of 1,221 adults during April and May 2016. The results were reported in the September 2016 issue of Kappan magazine. The major finding was that less than half of adult Americans say preparing students academically is the main goal of a public education, and just one-third feel that way strongly. The remaining Americans split between preparing students for work (25%) and preparing students for citizenship (26%). In a related result — perhaps reflecting the economic uncertainty of recent years — the survey finds a heavy tilt in preferences away from more higher-level academics and toward more classes focused on work skills. By a broad 68% to 21%, Americans say having their local public schools focus more on career-technical or skills-based classes is better than focusing on more honors or advanced academic classes. These differing views of the overarching purpose of public education influence attitudes toward public schools more broadly. Local schools are better rated by those focused on academics, for example, and do less well among those who see their chief aim as preparing students for work.