Meeting of the minds: the 2010 EdNext-PEPG survey shows that, on many reform issues, Democrats and Republicans hardly disagree.

Meeting of the minds: the 2010 EdNext-PEPG survey shows that, on many reform issues, Democrats and Republicans hardly disagree. Democrats and Republicans in Washington, D.C., are more polarized A one-way direction of a signal or the molecules within a material pointing in one direction. today than they have been in nearly a century. And among the generalpublic, party identification remains the single most powerful predictorof people's opinions about a wide range of policy issues. Giventhis environment, reaching consensus on almost any issue of consequencewould appear difficult. And when it comes to education policy, whichdoes a particularly good job of stirring people's passions,opportunities for advancing meaningful policy reform would appearentirely fleeting. Against this backdrop, the results of the 2010 EducationNext--Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG PEPG Program on Education Policy and Governance (Harvard University)PEPG Primitive Equation Persian Gulf ) Survey areencouraging. With the exceptions of school spending and teacher tenure,the divisions between ordinary Democrats and Republicans on educationpolicy matters are quite minor. To be sure, disagreements amongAmericans continue to linger lin��ger?v. lin��gered, lin��ger��ing, lin��gersv.intr.1. To be slow in leaving, especially out of reluctance; tarry. See Synonyms at stay1.2. . Indeed, with the exception of student andschool accountability measures, Americans as a whole do not standsteadfastly behind any single reform proposal. Yet the most salientdivisions appear to be within, not between, the political parties. Andwe find growing support for several strategies put forward in recentyears by leaders of both political parties--most notably, onlineeducation and merit pay Noun 1. merit pay - extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers)pay, remuneration, salary, wage, earnings - something that remunerates; "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all . Nearly 2,800 respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. participated in the 2010 EducationNext--PEPG Survey, which was administered in May and June of 2010 (seesidebar, page 31, for survey methodology). In addition to a nationallyrepresentative sample of American adults, the survey includedrepresentative samples of two populations of special interest: 1) publicschool teachers and 2) adults living in neighborhoods in which one ormore charter schools are located. With a large number of respondents, wewere able, in many cases, to pose differently worded questions to two ormore randomly chosen groups. In so doing, we were able to evaluate theextent to which expressed opinions change when a person is informed ofcertain facts, told about the president's position on an issue, orsimply asked about a topic in a different way. Grading the Nation's Schools Americans today give the public schools as a whole poor marks. Whenasked to grade the nation's schools on the same A to F scaletraditionally used to evaluate students, only 18 percent of surveyrespondents give them an "A" or a "B." This equalsthe percentage that awarded one of the top two grades in 2009, which hadbeen the lowest level observed across the three years of our survey.More than one-quarter of respondents, meanwhile, continue to give thenation's schools a "D" or an "F." Thesesentiments are shared widely. Fewer than one-quarter of AfricanAmericans and Hispanics give the nation's schools an "A"or "B," as do just 18 percent of parents of school-agedchildren. Most telling, perhaps, only 28 percent of teachers give thenation's schools an "A" or a "B," while 55percent give them a "C" and 17 percent a "D" or"F." However, as in the past, the public's assessment of the localschools is far higher. No less than 65 percent of those surveyed arewilling to give the school they identified as their local elementaryschool elementary school:see school. one of the two highest grades, and 55 percent are willing to giveone of those grades to their local middle school. Only 6 percent assigntheir local elementary school a "D" or and "F,"while 12 percent assign those low grades to their local middle school. School Spending and Teacher Salaries Though evaluations of schools remain low, the public appears aswilling as ever to support more spending on schools--until, that is, itbecomes clear that their own community would foot the bill. In 2010,amid mounting national, state, and local deficits, 63 percent of thepublic favor an increase in "government funding for public schoolsin your district," about the same level as in early 2008, justbefore the economic recession. Public support for additional spending is more fragile than itappears, however. When asked whether "local taxes to fund publicschools in your district should increase, decrease, or stay thesame," only 29 percent of the public favor an increase (see Figurela). Such strong resistance to local taxation suggests that anyincreases in school spending are likely to come, if at all, from higherlevels of government. [FIGURE 1a OMITTED] Whether or not the public supports higher teacher salaries alsodepends on how the question is worded. When the survey asked whetherteacher salaries should be increased, 59 percent of respondents favorthe idea in 2010 (see Figure lb), well below the 69 percent supportobserved in 2008. Support for increased teacher salaries falls sharplywhen respondents are first told the average annual salary of teachers intheir state. Supplied with that information, only 42 percent favor asalary increase. [FIGURE 1b OMITTED] It should come as no surprise that teachers are more supportive ofadditional school spending. Seventy-two percent favor more spending ifno mention is made of taxes, and 45 percent continue to favor spendingmore even if that means a local tax increase. Teachers are also far morelikely to think that their salaries should increase. In 2010,75 percentsupport the idea, regardless of whether they are informed of averagestate salary levels. Support for Reform The public's willingness to consider alternatives totraditional public schools and traditional public-school practices hasexpanded in many, though not all, directions. The public remainsfriendly to school choice, but the kinds of choices it prefers arechanging. Meanwhile, support for policies that base compensation onteacher performance has risen, but backing for other proposals tointroduce standard business practices into the education sector hasstayed about the same. The public's long-standing support forschool and student accountability measures remains high, though it isexpressed in slightly more qualified terms than in the past. School Choice When it comes to school choice, charter schools and onlineeducation are "in," while private school vouchers school vouchers,government grants aimed at improving education for the children of low-income families by providing school tuition that can be used at public or private schools. are"out." The charter option is especially popular amongminorities and parents in neighborhoo ds where charter schools arealready present. Charters. Charter schools have emerged as the mostwidely discussed alternative to traditional public schools. Initiated in1991 by a Minnesota law allowing private nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive.Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. entities to receivepublic funding Public funding is money given from tax revenue or other governmental sources to an individual, organization, or entity. See alsoPublic funding of sports venues Research funding Funding body to operate schools if authorized by a state agency, theidea has spread to more than 40 states, and some 1.5 million studentstoday attend charter schools. Charters have been praised for opening theschoolhouse door to entrepreneurial, energetic teachers and leaders aswell as for raising student achievement in high-need regions. But thepractice of chartering has also been criticized for allowing low-qualityschools to remain in operation and for siphoning resources away fromdistrict schools. To see whether the presence of a charter school within aneighborhood is correlated cor��re��late?v. cor��re��lat��ed, cor��re��lat��ing, cor��re��latesv.tr.1. To put or bring into causal, complementary, parallel, or reciprocal relation.2. with public opinion--either favorable fa��vor��a��ble?adj.1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds.2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis.3. orunfavorable--we surveyed a representative sample of residents living inzip codes in which at least one charter school is located. The presenceof charter schools in the community has not gone unnoticed. Forty-eightpercent of all adults--and 50 percent of parents of school-agedchildren-- living in a neighborhood with at least one charter schoolwere aware of that fact. After describing a charter school in neutral language, the surveyasked respondents if they favor or oppose "the formation of charterschools." The survey also gave respondents the option of stayingneutral by saying they neither favor nor oppose the policy. Thoseholding the neutral position declined from 44 percent to 36 percentbetween 2009 and 2010, likely reflecting the heightened attention tocharter schools in national debates over education reform (see Figure2). Among African Americans and Hispanics, indications that opinion hasbegun to solidify so��lid��i��fy?v. so��lid��i��fied, so��lid��i��fy��ing, so��lid��i��fiesv.tr.1. To make solid, compact, or hard.2. To make strong or united.v.intr. were even stronger: The portion of African Americansholding the neutral position crashed from 48 percent to 23 percentbetween 2008 and 2010. For Hispanics, the drop was from 46 percent to 33percent. Similarly, only 27 percent of the parents who live in charterneighborhoods take the neutral position.Overall Charter Support Holds Steady (Figure 2)Increasingly popular among minorities, but less popular among teachers. Support Neutral OpposeNational 2008 42 41 16 2009 39 44 17 2010 44 36 19African-American 2008 42 48 10 2009 49 42 9 2010 64 23 14Hispanic 2008 37 46 17 2009 40 52 7 2010 47 33 21Teachers 2008 47 20 33 2009 37 32 31 2010 39 25 36Parents * 2010 51 34 15Charter schools 2010 48 32 21Parents in charter school 2010 57 27 16neighborhood *Note: Table made from bar graph.* Those living in a charter school neighborhood and parents living in acharter school neighborhood were not separate categories of respondentsprior to 2010.Note: Exact questions available at educationnext.org.SOURCES: Education Next-PEPG Surveys 2008, 2009, 2010 Support for charter schools has remained reasonably steady over thelast several years. Between 2008 and 2009, the portion of the publicsaying they favor charters fell from 42 percent to 39 percent, but thattrend reversed in the past year, putting charter support at 44 percentin 2010. Opposition to charters now stands at 19 percent, givingsupporters a better than two-to-one advantage over opponents. Within minority communities, however, support for charters appearsto be rising. Among African Americans the portion who support chartersgrew from 42 percent to 49 percent between 2008 and 2009 and leapt leapt?v.A past tense and a past participle of leap. to 64percent in 2010, with only 14 percent expressing opposition. AmongHispanics, levels of support grew from 37 to 47 percent across the threeannual surveys. In communities where at least one charter school is located,overall levels of support are only somewhat higher: 48 percent of thepublic favor the formation of charters, while 20 percent are opposed.But fully 57 percent of the parents in communities with charter schoolsfavor them, compared to 51 percent of parents nationwide (a group thatincludes some parents living in communities with a charter schoolpresence). Both proponents and critics have noted that charter schools areover-represented in communities with high concentrations of minorities,yet this fact alone does not explain the higher levels of support inareas with a charter school. Among residents of communities with acharter school, 63 percent of white parents express support for theidea, as compared with 50 percent of white parents nationally. Thesenumbers may be encouraging, then, for those who hope that the gradualspread of charters will strengthen support for this reform strategy.However, our data do not tell us whether the charter presence is causingopinion to change or whether charters took root in these areas becauseof underlying public support for charter schools. What we can say withconfidence is that the presence of charters--and the intense localdebates it often generates--has not been sufficient to undermine popularsupport for this policy option. Bucking all of these trends, teacher opposition to charters hasintensified in��ten��si��fy?v. in��ten��si��fied, in��ten��si��fy��ing, in��ten��si��fiesv.tr.1. To make intense or more intense: . Support for charters among public school teachers fell from47 percent to 39 percent between 2008 and 2010, while opposition grewslightly from 33 percent to 36 percent. Once leaning toward charters,teacher opinion is now almost evenly divided between support andopposition. Although overall public support for charters shows signs ofsolidifying so��lid��i��fy?v. so��lid��i��fied, so��lid��i��fy��ing, so��lid��i��fiesv.tr.1. To make solid, compact, or hard.2. To make strong or united.v.intr. , key facts about charters remain unknown. Only 18 percent ofthe public know that charters cannot hold religious services, 19 percentthat they cannot charge tuition, 15 percent that students must beadmitted by lottery (if the school is oversubscribed Refers to connecting more users to a system than can be fully supported if all of them were using it at the same time. Networks and servers are almost always designed with some amount of oversubscription, counting on the fact that everybody does not need the service simultaneously. ), and just 12percent that, typically, charters receive less government funding perpupil than traditional public schools. In each instance, the remainingportions either answer the question incorrectly or, more often, confess confessv. in criminal law, to voluntarily state that one is guilty of a criminal offense. This admission may be made to a law enforcement officer or in court either prior to or upon arrest, or after the person is charged with a specific crime. that they simply don't know. In several respects, parents in communities with a charter presenceare only marginally more knowledgeable than the public at large.However, 30 percent of parents are aware that charters cannot chargetuition, and 28 percent realize charters must use lotteries ifoversubscribed. In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , parents with a charter nearby appearbetter informed about the mechanics of enrolling a child but no moreinformed than the broader public about other regulations on charterpractices. Virtual education. Online learning is rapidly penetrating penetratingbreaching the tissues of the body. thehigher education system, and, according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. some estimates, more than 1million high school and middle school students are also taking coursesonline. As these changes take place, online learning is growing moreacceptable to the public at large. In 2009, 42 percent of the publicsaid they thought high school students should receive credit forstate-approved courses taken over the Internet. Within one year, thatnumber jumped to 52 percent. Opposition meanwhile fell from 29 percentto 23 percent. One-quarter of the public express indifference IndifferenceAntoinette, Marie(1755–1793) queen of France to whom is attributed this statement on the solution to bread famine: “Let them eat cake.” [Fr. Hist. (seeFigure 3).Learning to Like the Internet (Figure 3)A majority of the public think high school students should get creditfor online courses.Should students get credit for online courses? Favor Neutral OpposeHigh school courses 2009 42 29 2010 52 25 23Middle school courses 2009 35 30 34 2010 43 29 28Note: Table made from bar graph.Note: Exact questions available at educationnext.org.SOURCES: Education Next-PEPG Surveys 2009, 2010 Support for online coursework courseworkNounwork done by a student and assessed as part of an educational courseNoun 1. coursework - work assigned to and done by a student during a course of study; usually it is evaluated as part of the student's by middle schoolers, though not asgreat as for high schoolers, also increased from 35 percent to 43percent between 2009 and 2010. Still, the practice of online learningremains nascent nascent/nas��cent/ (nas��ent) (na��sent)1. being born; just coming into existence.2. just liberated from a chemical combination, and hence more reactive because uncombined. . Less than one-tenth of those interviewed said theypersonally know any high school or middle school student who has taken acourse online. School vouchers. Compared to charter schools and online learning,private school vouchers have long been a more controversial feature ofthe school politics landscape. In recent years, voucher A receipt or release which provides evidence of payment or other discharge of a debt, often for purposes of reimbursement, or attests to the accuracy of the accounts. supporters havesuffered political defeat at least as often as they have enjoyedsuccess. A recent federal study of the much-watched voucher program inWashington, D.C., for example, showed that using a voucher boosted astudent's chances of graduating from high school. That positivedevelopment for voucher supporters, however, was offset by congressionalaction, supported by President Barack Obama, that shut down the program. So even as support for charters and online learning has grown, thepopularity of vouchers has slipped. When in 2007 we asked the publicabout a program that would "use government funds to help pay thetuition of low-income students ... to attend private schools," 45percent favored the idea, but that number has steadily fallen in thethree subsequent years. In 2010, only 31 percent express approval.Meanwhile, opposition has grown from 34 percent to 43 percent (seeFigure 4).Voucher Vicissitudes (Figure 4)Public support for school vouchers is sliding downhill. Favor Neutral OpposeNational 2007 45 20 34 2008 40 20 40 2009 35 24 42 2010 31 27 43African American 2007 68 17 15 2008 65 20 14 2009 57 24 19 2010 51 27 23Hispanic 2007 61 17 23 2008 63 21 16 2009 52 17 31 2010 47 23 30Teachers 2008 33 12 55 2009 30 13 58 2010 26 20 54Parents * 2010 36 27 37Charter school neighborhood 2010 40 25 36Parents in charter school neighborhood * 2010 46 25 29Note: Table made from bar graph.* Teachers were not a separate category of respondents prior to 2008;those living in a charter school neighborhood and parents living in acharter school neighborhood were not separate categories of respondentsprior to 2010.Note: Exact question available at educationnext.org.SOURCES: Education Next-PEPG Surveys 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 Support for vouchers is greater within the African American African AmericanMulticulture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.See Race. andHispanic communities, but declines are evident there as well.Sixty-eight percent of African Americans and 61 percent of Hispanicssupported vouchers in 2007, but only 51 percent and 47 percent of thetwo groups, respectively, take a similar position in 2010. Interestingly, support for vouchers is higher in communities wherecharter schools are located. Forty-six percent of the parents in theseneighborhoods support vouchers, as do 40 percent of all residents.Again, however, our data do not tell us whether the charter presence hascaused opinion to change or whether charters have simply located inareas that are more hospitable hos��pi��ta��ble?adj.1. Disposed to treat guests with warmth and generosity.2. Indicative of cordiality toward guests: a hospitable act.3. to school choice. Tax credits. A number of states--Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania,and Rhode Island Rhode Island, island, United StatesRhode Island,island, 15 mi (24 km) long and 5 mi (8 km) wide, S R.I., at the entrance to Narragansett Bay. It is the largest island in the state, with steep cliffs and excellent beaches. , for example--provide tax credits for low-incomefamilies who send their children to private schools or to those who giveto charities established for such purposes. Support for tax credits ismuch higher than for vouchers, especially if the question makes clearthat credits may be used for school expenses at both public and privateschools. Still, support for this policy has also lost ground in the pastthree years. In 2008, 64 percent of the public favored tax credits,whereas only 55 percent do so in 2010. Opposition has grown from 15percent to 20 percent (see Figure 5).Credit-Worthy (Figure 5)Tax credits for public and private schools remain popular.Tax Credits for Public and Private Education Expenses Favor Neutral OpposeNational 2007 53 23 25 2008 54 19 28 2009 60 24 15 2010 55 25 20African American 2007 67 21 12 2008 63 18 19 2009 69 21 9 2010 71 20 9Hispanic 2007 60 24 15 2008 54 16 29 2009 64 21 15 2010 65 27 9Teachers 2008 46 12 41 2009 57 18 25 2010 51 20 29Parents * 2010 67 21 12Charter school neighborhood 2010 59 23 18Parents in charter school neighborhood * 2010 66 19 15* Teachers were not a separate category of respondents prior to 2008;those living in a charter school neighborhood and parents living in acharter school neighborhood were not separate categories of respondentsprior to 2010.Note: Exact question available at educatlonnext.org.SOURCES: Education Next-PEPG Surveys 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010Note: Table made from bar graph. The idea remains extremely popular among African Americans,however, with levels of support hovering hov��er?intr.v. hov��ered, hov��er��ing, hov��ers1. To remain floating, suspended, or fluttering in the air: gulls hovering over the waves.2. around 70 percent during thelast three years. Among Hispanics, support fell from 75 percent to 65percent between 2008 and 2010. Tax credits for donors to scholarship programs that help low-incomestudents attend private schools garner twice as much support asopposition. Half the public support the idea, while only 22 percentoppose it. Support for this form of school choice is again greater inneighborhoods where charters are located, both among parents and thegeneral public. And in contrast to other policies that would expandaccess to private schools, support for this idea increased modestly inthe past year. Teacher Policy and Teachers Unions Public discussions of the best way to recruit, evaluate, andcompensate teachers have proliferated of late, largely due to researchdemonstrating the importance of teacher quality for student achievement.But with one exception, public opinion on these issues has remainedrelatively stable. Merit pay. That exception, paying teachers according to theirclassroom performance, received support from the Obama administrationwhen it invited states to include this innovation in their proposals toobtain federal funds Federal FundsFunds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements.Notes:These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve from its signature education reform initiative,Race to the Top. To assess public support for this policy, commonly known as meritpay, the survey asked respondents in 2009 whether they favored"basing a teacher's salary, in part, on students'academic progress on state tests." Only 27 percent opposed theidea, while 43 percent welcomed it. In 2010, support increased to 49percent (see Figure 6), although one-quarter of the population continueto oppose the idea.No Exceptions for Teachers (Figure 6)The public supports merit pay and opposes practices that guaranteeteachers tenure. Favor Neutral OpposeTeacher tenure 2009 25 30 45 2010 25 29 47Merit pay 2007 44 25 32 2008 44 28 28 2009 43 30 27 2010 49 25 26Note: Exact questions available at educationnext.org.SOURCES: Education Next-PEPG Surveys 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010Note: Table made from bar graph. Teacher tenure. In February 2010, the superintendent of schools inCentral Falls, Rhode Island Central Falls is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 18,928 at the 2000 census. It is among the most densely populated cities in the United States. Central Falls takes its name from a waterfall on the nearby Blackstone River. , announced the dismissal of all teachers ather district's high school on the grounds that the school waspersistently underperforming. To the surprise of many, her actionsreceived presidential approval. "If a school continues to fail itsstudents year after year, if it doesn't show signs of improvement,then there's got to be a sense of accountability," PresidentObama announced. "And that's what happened in RhodeIsland." Eventually, the board and local teachers union reached acompromise, and media attention shifted to other topics. Obama's comments reflected the balance of opinion in thepublic at large. Opponents of the practice of offering tenure to publicschool teachers outnumber out��num��ber?tr.v. out��num��bered, out��num��ber��ing, out��num��bersTo exceed the number of; be more numerous than.outnumberVerbto exceed in number: its supporters in 2010 by a margin of nearlytwo to one. Forty-seven percent of the public oppose teacher tenure,while only 25 percent are in favor (see Figure 6). Not surprisingly, thedistribution of teacher opinion is almost exactly the opposite. Theevents in Rhode Island apparently were too isolated to alter nationalopinion on tenure policy, as responses remain essentially the same in2010 as they had been one year earlier. Teachers unions. Nor did public opinion concerning teachers unionschange significantly, despite rising union opposition to many of theObama administration's education reform initiatives. Those whothink unions have a "negative effect" on their local schoolsticked upward from 31 percent to 33 percent between 2009 and 2010, whilethose who think unions have a "positive effect" remainedunchanged at 28 percent. In both years, a plurality The opinion of an appellate court in which more justices join than in any concurring opinion.The excess of votes cast for one candidate over those votes cast for any other candidate.Appellate panels are made up of three or more justices. of roughly 40percent took no position on the question. Student and School Accountability Few ideas are more popular than holding students accountable fortheir performance. In 2007, 85 percent of those interviewed said theythought students should be required to "pass an examination"in order to graduate from high school, as they are required to do"in some states." In 2010, 76 percent of the public continueto express such sentiments. In both years, opposition hovered around 10percent of the total. Support is high even among teachers, of whom 63percent think students should be required to pass an exam to receivetheir degree. Hardly less popular is the more stringent rule that students mustpass a test before moving on to the next grade, as is currently requiredfor 3rd graders in both Florida and New York City New York City:see New York, city. New York CityCity (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Eighty-one percentsupported that idea in 2007 and nearly the same percentage--79percent--favor it in 2010. Again, in both years, opposition amounted tono more than 9 percent of the total. Teachers are nearly as likely tofavor the idea, perhaps because it would help to ensure that theirstudents are prepared for the material they are asked to impart. It is surprising that an idea that is so popular does not find itsway into the national political agenda. To be sure, there are some signsthat the public's appetite for student accountability measures mayhave waned somewhat. Overall levels of support have declined of late,and the percentage of Americans who profess pro��fess?v. pro��fessed, pro��fess��ing, pro��fess��esv.tr.1. To affirm openly; declare or claim: "a physics major to "stronglysupport" either of the proposals discussed above has dropped byeven larger margins. More likely, though, elite politics are responsiblefor the exclusion of this policy reform from public debate. Teachersunions, which are core constituents of the Democratic Party, opposethese measures. And the Republican Party, with its historical supportfor local control, has thus far proved unwilling to step into the fray fray?1?n.1. A scuffle; a brawl. See Synonyms at brawl.2. A heated dispute or contest.tr.v. frayed, fray��ing, frays Archaic1. To alarm; frighten.2. . The nationwide practice of releasing to the public the average testscores for every school is slightly less popular than holding studentsaccountable. The survey posed the question, "Do you support oroppose making available to the general public the average test scores ofstudents at each public school?" In 2007,60 percent voiced support,and 57 percent favor the practice in 2010. Opposition stood at 20percent in both years. But only 45 percent of the teachers favor makingthis information available to the public. Clearly, school transparency (1) The quality of being able to see through a material. The terms transparency and translucency are often used synonymously; however, transparent would technically mean "seeing through clear glass," while translucent would mean "seeing through frosted glass." See alpha blending. is more popular with the public than with those who work inside theschools (see Figure 7).The Wonderful World of Accountability (Figure 7)Everyone (except, at times, teachers) wants tough testing standards andschool accountability.Percentage favoringReleasing test scoresNational 2007 60National 2010 57Teachers 2010 65Maintain federal testing requirementsNational 2010 62Teachers 2010 50Tougher standardsNational 2010 58Teachers 2010 33Note: Table made from bar graph.* Teachers were not a separate category of respondents prior to 2008.Note: Exact questions available at educationnext.org.SOURCES: Education Next-PEPG Surveys 2007, 2010 Given the general level of support for student and schoolaccountability, it is to be expected that the public supports thoseprovisions of No Child Left Behind that require regular testing ingrades 3 through 8 and once more in high school. When the survey askedwhether respondents favor maintaining current federal testingrequirements, 62 percent of the public say yes, though only 50 percentof teachers agree (see Figure 7). If the respondent In Equity practice, the party who answers a bill or other proceeding in equity. The party against whom an appeal or motion, an application for a court order, is instituted and who is required to answer in order to protect his or her interests. is informed thatPresident Obama proposed that these provisions be continued, supportincreases slightly to 66 percent of those surveyed (see Figure 8). Ifthe president's endorsement seems to have only slight generaleffect, it helps solidify support among a key constituency, as supportamong teachers moves decisively upward to 59 percent. [FIGURE 8 OMITTED] To further explore Obama's capacity to shape public opinion,the survey asked half the respondents whether they favor"toughening" state standards used to evaluate studentperformance. Even with no mention of the president's views, theidea appears to be popular, as 58 percent say they support the idea andonly 15 percent oppose it. The support level is still higher among thehalf of the sample informed of Obama's support for the proposal.Among this group, 65 percent support more rigorous standards. Bipartisan Agenda? A clear plurality, even a majority, of the American public supporta wide range of policy innovations ranging from charter schools and taxcredits to tougher standards, accountability measures, and merit pay forteachers. But pluralities and bare majorities are often not enough toalter public policy in a country where power is divided between twohighly competitive and increasingly polarized political parties. IfRepublicans and Democrats disagree strongly on the options for schoolreform, changes are unlikely--despite clear signs that the public isconcerned about the quality of public education. To examine the extent to which self-identified Democrats andRepublicans differ on education issues, we calculated the differencebetween the average position on key issues held by Democraticrespondents and the position held by Republican respondents. On eachissue, individual responses were placed on a 1-5 scale, ranging from"strongly oppose" (1) to "strongly support" (5).Figure 9 shows the extent to which Democrats, on average, differ fromRepublicans on a given issue. The longer the bar, the more polarized theparty supporters. If the bar falls to the left side of zero, Democratssupport the policy more than Republicans; if the bar falls to the right,Republicans support the policy more than Democrats. [FIGURE 9 OMITTED] Overall, there appears to be far less polarization polarizationProperty of certain types of electromagnetic radiation in which the direction and magnitude of the vibrating electric field are related in a specified way. between theparties than might be expected. On questions concerning their overallassessment of the nation's schools, student and schoolaccountability, and even the creation of charter schools, the distancebetween the parties amounted to less than 0.2 points on the 5-pointscale. In the case of accountability measures, the combination of strongoverall support and minimal partisan Partisan may refer to: Political mattersIn politics, partisan literally means organized into political parties. The expression "Partisan politics" usually refers to fervent, sometimes militant support of a party, cause, faction, person, or idea. conflict suggests that suchpolicies will continue to be central to the nation's educationreform agenda. In the case of charter schools, for which overall supportis more mixed, it appears that the important divisions in public opinionare within rather than between the nation's major politicalparties. The divergence divergenceIn mathematics, a differential operator applied to a three-dimensional vector-valued function. The result is a function that describes a rate of change. The divergence of a vector v is given by between the parties is slightly larger on schoolvouchers and tax credits for education expenses, at 0.22 and 0.25,respectively. But in contrast to the patterns observed among electedofficials, ordinary Democrats are somewhat more supportive thanRepublicans of these policies, in part due to the strong support forprivate school choice within the heavily Democratic minority community.Thirty-five percent of Democrats express support for vouchers, comparedto 30 percent of Republicans. And Democrats are more likely thanRepublicans to support tax credits by a 60 percent to 53 percent margin. The key exceptions to the general story of cross-party agreementinvolve school spending, teacher tenure, and the influence of teachersunions. Democrats are more supportive than Republicans of increasingteacher salaries and especially overall school spending, for which thedifference in average positions is larger than 0.5 on the 5-point scale.Fully 70 percent of Democrats support increased spending if no mentionis made of taxes, compared to only 40 percent of Republicans. Thedifferences on teacher tenure policy are even larger, as 62 percent ofRepublicans but only 34 percent of Democrats altogether oppose thepractice. Most strikingly, Democrats have a far more sanguine sanguine/san��guine/ (sang��gwin)1. plethoric.2. ardent or hopeful.san��guineadj.1. Of a healthy, reddish color; ruddy.2. view ofthe influence of teachers unions on their community's schools: 39percent consider them to have a positive effect, while only 19 percentsee their effect as negative. Among Republicans, only 17 percent believethat teachers unions have a positive effect, and 50 percent believe theyhave a negative effect. President as Opinion Maker Our data do not allow us to identify all the factors that arereshaping public opinion. But inasmuch as in��as��much as?conj.1. Because of the fact that; since.2. To the extent that; insofar as.inasmuch asconj1. since; because2. the president of the UnitedStates United States,officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. has the largest "bully pulpit bully pulpitn.An advantageous position, as for making one's views known or rallying support: "The presidency had been transformed from a bully pulpit on Pennsylvania Avenue to a stage the size of the world"" and is in the bestposition to set the public agenda, it is reasonable to suppose that theObama administration has contributed to some of the changes in opinionreported above. At the same time, the president's persuasiveness per��sua��sive?adj.Tending or having the power to persuade: a persuasive argument.per��sua is likely todepend on his popularity with the general public. To investigate thispossibility, we asked parallel sets of questions in March 2009, whenPresident Obama was at the peak of his popularity, and in May 2010, whenhis approval ratings had fallen below 50 percent. On both occasions,one-half of respondents were asked their opinion on several issues onlyafter being told the president's position, while the other randomlychosen half were asked the question outright. In early 2009, exposure to the president's views had theeffect of shifting public opinion in the direction of thepresident's by 13 percentage points on merit pay and 11 percentagepoints on charters and vouchers (see Figure 8). Sizable siz��a��blealso size��a��ble ?adj.Of considerable size; fairly large.siza��ble��ness n. increases wereobserved for both Democrats and Republicans. But one year later,Obama's influence foundered. In the summer of 2010, public supportfor merit pay actually decreased by 1 percentage point when respondentswere told that the president favored the idea. Among Democrats, knowingthe president's position increased support by 8 percentage points,enough to bring the share in favor of upon the side of; favorable to; for the advantage of.See also: favor merit pay to 53 percent. AmongRepublicans, however, being told of the president's positionreduced support for merit pay by 12 percentage points, from 55 to 43percent. Public opinion on maintaining federal testing requirementsshifted in the president's direction by only 4 percentage pointswhen respondents were told of his position, with support falling by 1percentage point among Republicans and increasing by 6 percentage pointsamong Democrats. Finally, when respondents were told that the presidentopposed vouchers, public support fell by only 5 percentage points--lessthan half the decline observed on the same issue in 2009 (see Figure 8). These experimental data suggest that by 2010 President Obamawielded few of the persuasive powers he brandished during the honeymoonmonths of his presidency. It is possible, though, that his influence in2009 was put to good use. Between 2009 and 2010, public opinion on meritpay, charter schools, and vouchers all shifted closer to thepresident's position. The public became 6 percentage points moresupportive of merit pay, 5 percentage points more supportive of charterschools, and 4 points less favorable to vouchers. Of course, these datado not establish that presidential appeals are responsible for thesechanges in public opinion. The president, after all, is hardly the onlyopinion maker in society. But if opinion reflects the cross-currents ofconversations taking place in a society, then the holder of thenation's highest office may be able to alter opinion on the issuesof the day, at least at those moments when presidential popularity ishigh. Conclusions Democrats and Republicans are at each other's throats in thenation's capital. On cable news and talk radio, the Left rantsabout the Right, and vice versa VICE VERSA. On the contrary; on opposite sides. . More than any time in recent memory,American politics is defined by hectoring, sniping, and bullying BullyingChowne, Parson Stoyleterrorizes parish; kidnaps children. [Br. Lit.: The Maid of Sker, Walsh Modern, 94–95]Claypole, Noahbully; becomes thief in Fagin’s gang. [Br. Lit. . Forthose fond of democratic deliberation deliberationn. the act of considering, discussing, and, hopefully, reaching a conclusion, such as a jury's discussions, voting and decision-making. DELIBERATION, contracts, crimes. and consensus building, these areunhappy times. The results of the 2010 Education Next-PEPG Survey, however,suggest that the public does not necessarily subscribe to Verb 1. subscribe to - receive or obtain regularly; "We take the Times every day"subscribe, takebuy, purchase - obtain by purchase; acquire by means of a financial transaction; "The family purchased a new car"; "The conglomerate acquired a new company"; all thepositions taken by the most vocal elements in our society. Indeed, ourresults suggest the possibility of advancing meaningful policy reform.The American public shows growing support for online learning and meritpay for teachers and continued support for accountability, standards,testing, and charter schools--education innovations that have beenendorsed by leaders in both major parties. No less important is the factthat opinion on many key education issues does not polarize po��lar��ize?v. po��lar��ized, po��lar��iz��ing, po��lar��iz��esv.tr.1. To induce polarization in; impart polarity to.2. To cause to concentrate about two conflicting or contrasting positions. the publicalong partisan lines. Moreover, we find suggestive sug��ges��tive?adj.1. a. Tending to suggest; evocative: artifacts suggestive of an ancient society.b. evidence that whilethe current president's persuasive powers may have waned, theyappear to have had an impact. Clearly, we mustn't get carried away. With the exception ofstudent accountability measures, no single policy reform garners thesupport of huge swaths of the American public. But taken as a whole, theresults from this year's Education Next-PEPG survey are cause forsome optimism among school reformers. With appropriate leadership, abipartisan majority may yet rally in support of a significant schoolreform package. William G. Howell is professor of American politics at theUniversity of Chicago. Paul E. Peterson Paul E. Peterson is a leading scholar on education reform.[1] His work has largely focused on the importance of parental choice for improving school outcomes. He is Editor-In-Chief of Education Next is professor of government atHarvard University Harvard University,mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college.Harvard CollegeHarvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. . Martin R. West is assistant professor of educationat the Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is a graduate school at Harvard University, and is one of the top schools of education in the United States.It offers six doctoral concentrations and thirteen masters programs. . RELATED ARTICLE: Survey Methods The 2010 Education Next-PEPG Survey of Public Opinion was conductedby the polling firm Knowledge Networks (KN) between May 11 and June 8,2010. KN maintains a nationally representative panel of adults, obtainedvia list-assisted random digit-dialing sampling techniques, who agree toparticipate in a limited number of online surveys. Detailed informationabout the maintenance of the KN panel, the protocols used to administersurveys, and the comparability of online and telephone surveys isavailable online at www.knowledgenetworks.com/quality/. The main findings from the Education Next-PEPG survey reported inthis essay are based on a nationally representative stratified sample Noun 1. stratified sample - the population is divided into strata and a random sample is taken from each stratumproportional sample, representative sample of1,184 adults (age 18 years and older) and oversamples of 684 publicschool teachers and 908 residents of zip codes in which a charter schoolwas located during the 2009-10 school year. The total sample of 2,776adults consists of 2,038 non-Hispanic whites, 280 non-Hispanic blacks,263 Hispanics, and 195 individuals identifying with another or multipleracial or ethnic groups. In general, survey responses based on larger numbers ofobservations are more precise, that is, less prone to sampling variancethan those made across groups with fewer numbers of observations. As aconsequence, answers attributed to the national population are moreprecisely estimated than are those attributed to subgroups. With 2,776total respondents, the margin of error for responses given by the fullsample in the Education Next-PEPG survey is 1.86 percentage points forquestions on which opinion is evenly split. On many items, we conducted survey experiments to examine theeffect of variations in the way questions are posed. The figures andonline tables present separately the results for the differentexperimental conditions. Percentages reported in the figures and online tables do not alwaysadd precisely to 100 as a result of rounding to the nearest percentagepoint.