Just as lawyers don't write necessarily to be understood, but to be legal, it is sometimes difficult to figure out just what pollsters are saying. They write to be accurate, or as accurate as explaining a poll can be, so they have to be forgiven if they didn't minor in creative writing. They'll get some poets in the industry yet.
So it was remarkable when this year's annual Education Next poll came out and made for interesting reading. Or, as the compliment goes in this business, the Harvard-backed researchers gave us a fast read. The first paragraph alone made a body want to read on:
"Education's political landscape has shifted dramatically over the past year. To the consternation of most school-district officials, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos used the bully pulpit to promote charter schools, vouchers, and tax credits for private-school scholarships. To the distress of teachers unions, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an Illinois law requiring government workers who elect not to become union members to pay representation fees. To the chagrin of civil-rights groups, the U.S. Department of Education said that it was reviewing a letter sent to school districts by the Obama administration informing them that they were at risk of incurring a civil-rights violation if students of color were suspended or expelled more often than their peers. To the relief of Common Core enthusiasts, the politically charged debate over the standards moved to the back burner. And to the dismay of parents, teachers, and policymakers across the political spectrum, students demonstrated almost no gains in reading and math on the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) over the 2015 test."
It's a little long for a lede, and a good editor would have chopped it up. But still.
The Education Next poll had a lot in it. (Find it at www.educationnext.org) It would be worth reading for folks in Arkansas as we debate charter schools, vouchers and union representation among teachers. Some of the highlights:
• 49 percent of those polled say teacher salaries should increase. That's a 13-point jump from last year.
• About half say overall education spending should increase.
• Less than one-third of those polled say the feds should increase spending in schools based on the number of immigrant children in them.
No surprises in the above.
But here are some more interesting numbers floating behind the weeds:
• The survey found that 56 percent of the public didn't like the idea of unions forcing workers to pay collective bargaining fees if those workers aren't members of the union. And, as well, 56 percent of teachers thought the same thing.
• A majority of the public supports school vouchers that would allow kids to pay for private schools. Opposition to those vouchers is less than one-third of the public. But 56 percent of African Americans and a whopping 62 percent of Hispanics are pro-vouchers.
• Apparently last year's survey showed a decline in support for charter schools. But this year that support clicked up 5 percent to 44 percent total. And the survey showed that support for charter schools among minority members--that is, black and Hispanic folk--is higher than the general population. As if people in more challenging parts of the country know that their schools are failing and would like their kids to go elsewhere. (But that's our editorial comment. The pollsters didn't go that far past the numbers.)
Arkansas, and Little Rock in particular, will be debating charter schools and vouchers into the foreseeable future. Not to mention merit pay, union representation and fair-dismissal laws. We would do well to keep in mind that any changes made, or not made, in public education will affect certain communities and ZIP codes more than others. And folks who can least afford private schooling--or a house in the suburbs--know better what they want. They're quite aware of what they're going through.
We look forward to keeping up with these annual Education Next polls. Call it recommended reading.
Editorial on 11/24/2018