What Parents and the Public Think About SchoolStandards By: Anthony Pellegrino

Recently I came across three opinion polls taken in the United States concerning education which reveal some rather reliable public opinions concerning education.Here is a sampling. See whether you agree or disagree with the findings of the polls.

Standards Too Low: 61% of Americans think that academic standards are too low in their local schools (49% of white parents, 70% of AfricanAmerican parents). 82% support setting up very clear guidelines on what students should learn and teachers should teach in every major subject (87% of white parents, 92% of African American parents).

No More Social Promotions: 87% favor setting higher standards for students in the basic subjects– math, English, history, science– and using those standards for promotion decisions.70% want to raise standards for promotion from elementary to middle school and let students move ahead only when they pass a test showing they have met these standards (69% of white parents, 72% of African American parents). 76% want teachers to toughen their grading and be more willing to fail high school students who aren’t learning (78% of white parents, 66% of African American parents). 60% want teachers to toughen their grading and be more willing to fail elementary school students who aren’t learning (60% of white parents, 50% of African American parents).

Tougher Graduation Requirements: 47% believe that it is possible to get a high school diploma without being able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic.

88% support not allowing students to graduate from high school unless they demonstrate they can write and speak English well (89% of white parents, 80% of African American parents).

84% favor requiring students meet higher standards in the core subjects in order to graduate from high school.

Expect More. Get More: 71% say that with higher standards, youngsters will pay more attention to their school work and study harder.

72% say that with higher standards, students will actually learn more.

60% feel that higher standards will encourage students from low-income backgrounds to do better in school.

86% of respondents say students should learn to arithmetic “by hand” including memorizing multiplication tables–before starting to use calculators.

60% of Americans reject the educational strategy that encourages children to write creatively and express themselves from the beginning, without much attention to spelling and grammar. Instead, most people endorse teaching the rules of writing from the beginning.

Only 34% of Americans think that mixing students of different achievement levels together in class– heterogeneous grouping”– helps increase student reaming. The polls reveal that the overwhelming majority of people are convinced that average learners get less attention than either fast or slow learners. As a result heterogeneous grouping has little appeal.

To many Americans, “education experts” seem to give surprisingly little attention to basics. Instead they seem to think that “critical thinking skills,” the need to learn teamwork, and other “higher order” skills should be at the top of reformers agendas. However the vast majority of Americans (96%) support “tougher and more challenging courses” in the basics.

In summary, parents and the public want tougher academic standards beginning in elementary school. They don’t want children passed to a higher grade unless they have reamed the material. And they want a high school diploma to really stand for something.

Perhaps we should take a poll in the CNMI to find out what you the parents and the public expect from the PSS. Do you feel the same as the findings in the above polls? Let me hear from you–Tel. 233-3973, fax 233-9297 or e-mail. tonypell@saipan.com.