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Carnegie Corporation of New York Nationally Representative Poll for Schools for a New Society

This summary provides the major conclusions from a public opinion poll conducted by phone for Carnegie Corporation of New York by Widmeyer Research and Polling of Washington, D.C., among 2,998 adults 18 years of age or older. The poll was completed in January 2006.

The objective of the poll was to assess Americans’ attitudes about public education offered at urban high schools and the role of school districts and other organizations in improving public education.

• 2,382 surveys were conducted in the following seven communities: (1) Boston; (2) Hamilton County/Chattanooga; (3) Houston; (4) Providence; (5) Sacramento; (6) San Diego; and (7) Worcester. 616 random and nationally representative surveys were conducted outside of these seven communities.
  
• The 2,998 completed surveys were re-balanced to reflect Census demographics (Census region, gender, age, income, household composition) and are therefore representative of the U.S. adult population.

The major conclusions from this nationally representative study are as follows:

1. Americans want all high schools to be as good as the best ones in the community. The “same-old” reform approaches that have been tried over and over again are not going to solve the systemic problems faced by our urban high schools unless we begin with district reform.

• 91% of Americans agree with the statement every public high school should be as good as the community’s very best.
  
• 95% of Americans say that the school district’s administration has an important role to play in improving public education and ensuring that all urban high schools in their community offer quality education to all students.
  
• 92% agree with the statement successful high school reform must include changes in how the school district manages its high schools.

2. Americans want education, political and community leaders to step up to the plate to ensure that all high schools get the resources they need to provide a quality education to all students, not just a privileged few.

• More than 4 in 5 Americans (82%) say that implementing policies so that every single school within a district receives the resources and support it needs to offer students a quality education should be a VERY important priority for school districts:
  
• More than 4 in 5 Americans (86%) agree with the statement political, education and community leaders must work together to change the situation where high school resources are not handed out fairly among high schools.

3. Community partnerships make the difference. Americans do not believe that struggling urban high schools in their city can improve without expanding the number of stakeholders and strongly support active and sustained community involvement and partnership building between the district and local not-for-profits, colleges, teachers’ unions, local businesses and parent groups.

• More than 4 in 5 Americans (83%) say that community members and organizations should share either a “great deal” or “some” responsibility for reforming or improving urban public high schools. These include community not-for-profit organizations that focus on education and children.
  
• More than 9 in 10 Americans (94%) say that parents and other adults should share some of responsibility for reforming or improving urban public high schools.
  
• More than four in five Americans (85%) say the larger community outside of the school district should play an important role in improving the quality of education offered by urban high schools.

4. Americans want our high schools to prepare students for success at life—just going to high school and graduating from high school is no longer “enough.” They want instructional reforms that establish a connection between the classroom and life and teach our youth the problem solving and collaborative working skills they need to succeed as adults in the 21^st century.

• At least 9 in 10 Americans say the following initiatives are very important for urban public high schools to include:
  
  » Instruction that helps students become good readers and writers (96%).
  
  » Senior projects and oral presentations (96%).
  
  » Ways to help students see a connection between instruction and the real world (96%).

5. “Smaller is better” when it comes to urban public high schools. Americans want school districts to create small schools and learning communities out of large, less personal schools because they strongly believe that all students will learn better and achieve at a much higher level.

• Nine in 10 Americans (91%) say that “creating smaller learning communities of teachers and students in already large existing schools” should be a priority for district officials.
  
• More than 4 in 5 Americans (83%) say that “breaking up large, impersonal schools into small learning communities or small schools” should be a priority for district officials.
  
• Two in three Americans (65%) say the major benefits of smaller school are that “students will learn better” and “increased student achievement.”

6. There is consensus among all Americans that vastly improved reading instruction in our urban high schools must be a top priority for school administrators.

• “Making a commitment to vastly improved reading instruction in all high schools” is one of the most important priorities for school districts.
  
  » More than 9 in 10 Americans (93%) say making a commitment to improved reading instruction is a very important priority for school districts.