Results from the2014 Schooling in America Survey

American Enterprise InstituteWashington, DCJune 26, 2014

Paul DiPernapaul@edchoice.org

Survey ProfileData Collection: Braun Research, Inc. (BRI)Interview Dates: April 23 to May 4, 2014Interview Method: Live Telephone | 70% landline, 30% cell phoneInterview Length: 16 minutes (average)Sample Frame: General Population/ American Adults (age 18+)Sampling Method: Dual Frame; Probability Sampling; RDDSample Size: N = 1,007 Margin of Error: MOE = ± 3.1 percentage points Response Rates: Landline (LL) = 15.8%

Cell Phone = 14.1%Weighting? Yes (LL/Cell, Age, Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Region)Oversampling? No

Topics• Direction of K-12 education• Rating federal involvement • Grading local schools (public, private, charter) • Preferred school type, and why• School Choice: charter schools, vouchers,

ESAs, tax-credit scholarships• Common Core• Standardized testing

Observing the following metrics…~ Levels

~ Margins (i.e. differences, gaps)

~ Intensities (strong positive – strong negative)

What do Americans say about the direction of K-12 education?

What about federal involvement?

How do Americans grade schools in their communities?

What type of school is first preference?

What do Americans say about school choice topics?

• Charter schools• School vouchers• ESAs• Tax-credit scholarships

Types of School Choiceby level of support64% Tax-Credit Scholarships63% Vouchers61% Charter Schools56% ESAs

by level of opposition34% ESAs33% Vouchers26% Charter Schools25% Tax-Credit Scholarships

Types of School Choiceby margin+39 Tax-Credit Scholarships+35 Charter Schools+30 Vouchers+22 ESAs

by intensity+15 Vouchers+13 Charter Schools+13 Tax-Credit Scholarships+6 ESAs

… Common Core?

… standardized testing?

Takeaways I• American are negative about the

direction of K-12 education in the country; even more so about the federal government’s performance

• Wide disconnect between schooling preferences and actual school enrollment patterns

Takeaways II• Americans today are approx. 2x more likely

to support school choice policies across the board, than oppose them

• Mixed signals on Common Core; context matters for level of support; however, intensity is in the negative direction with or without context

• 44% of school parents/36% GP say there is too much time spent on standardized testing

Thank YouPaul DiPernapaul@edchoice.org

Full report and component files are availableat edchoice.org

REFERENCE SLIDES

Common Core Battleground:“Champions” vs. “Dissidents”

What do Americans know about spending in K-12 Education?

Recent National Surveys

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