Issue Area: K-12 Education

WHERE WE ARE NOW

12 Things You Need to Know about Public Opinion & Public Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2003

A digest of a decade of Public Agenda opinion research on public education.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

REALITY CHECK 2002

A Special Report

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2002

The fifth annual progress report on the academic standards movement finds widespread support among teachers and parents, while high school students seem to be adjusting comfortably to the new provisions.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

SIZING THINGS UP

What Parents, Teachers & Students Think About Large and Small High Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2002

Parents whose children attend small high schools were more likely to praise academics and say struggling students get help, while parents whose children were in large schools reported more students falling through the cracks.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

WHEN IT'S YOUR OWN CHILD

A Report on Special Education from the Families Who Use It

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2002

The stigma once attached to children with disabilities is disappearing, according to parents of special education students.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Children & Families

JUST WAITING TO BE ASKED

A Fresh Look at Attitudes on Public Engagement

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2001

Parents and the public would like to see more community involvement, but two-thirds say they're comfortable leaving decisions to the professionals.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Public Engagement/Deliberative Democracy

REALITY CHECK 2001

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2001

This fourth annual progress report on the academic standards movement finds that teachers, parents, students, employers, and college professors broadly endorse local initiatives to raise standards.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Higher Education

TRYING TO STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME

Superintendents & Principals Talk About School Leadership

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2001

School superintendents and principals say that good leadership can turn around even the most troubled schools, but that politics and bureaucracy too often stand in the way.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

A SENSE OF CALLING

Who Teaches and Why

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2000

At a time of intense concern over the quality of the teaching force, this study shows that individuals entering the profession are admirably dedicated to their craft.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

REALITY CHECK 2000

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 2000

This third annual survey on the state of school reform raises serious questions about what impact academic standards are having in classrooms nationwide.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

DOING COMPARATIVELY WELL

Why the Public Loves Higher Education & Criticizes K-12

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

The first report to compare the public's perception of higher and lower education by examining the findings of a number of research projects.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Higher Education

ON THIN ICE

How Advocates and Opponents Could Misread the Public's View on Vouchers and Charter Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

The debate over alternatives to traditional public education is now at political center stage.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

PLAYING THEIR PARTS

Parents & Teachers Talk About Parental Involvement In Public Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

This study is based on two national surveys, one with 1,000 public school teachers and the other with 1,220 parents of children in public schools.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Children & Families

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN EDUCATION

A White Paper Prepared for the Ford Foundation by Public Agenda

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

Commissioned by the Ford Foundation, this paper defines public engagement and outlines the successful strategies for involving citizens.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Public Engagement/Deliberative Democracy

REALITY CHECK 1999

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

The second annual education survey contrasts the varying perspectives of teachers, parents, students and employers on the quality of public schools.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY

Where the Public Stands

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

Recent news reports have suggested a growing backlash by parents in many communities against tougher school standards and standardized tests.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Leaders' Expectations of Higher Education

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1999

This Public Agenda survey reveals that employers, professors, government officials and higher ed administrators are no less perplexed by another problem on the nation's campuses: too many freshmen are not ready to take on college-level course work.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

REALITY CHECK (1998)

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1998

Public Agenda's Reality Check is a special feature of Education Week's annual report Quality Counts.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Higher Education

TIME TO MOVE ON

African American & White Parents Set and Agenda for Public Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1998

This comprehensive national study takes an in-depth look at the views of black and white parents toward public school integration, academic standards, and student achievement as well as parental involvement, teacher quality, safety and discipline.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Race

DIFFERENT DRUMMERS

How Teachers of Teachers View Public Education

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1997

This is the first comprehensive survey of the views of education professors from United States colleges and universities.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

GETTING BY

What American Teenagers Really Think About Their Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1997

Public high school students are the focus of this national telephone survey that examines how teens view their schools, teachers and the learning process.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Race

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

What People Really Think About the Education Press

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1997

The role the media play in shaping perceptions of the public schools is a recurring theme in the ongoing debate over the quality of public education.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

COMMITTED TO CHANGE

Missouri Citizens and Public Education

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1996

This study focuses on how citizens of Missouri feel about public education. A comparison of the views of Missouri citizens to citizens of Connecticut, and the nation-at-large, is also included.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES

Teachers Talk About Public Education Today

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1996

Public school teachers are the focus of this national study. Teachers' views on how the public schools are performing; what children need to learn; and what schools need to be effective are explored.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

THE BASICS

Parents Talk about Reading, Writing, Arithmetic & the Schools

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1996

Based on ten focus groups around the country with parents of public school children, the public's concern with the basics is explored.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

ASSIGNMENT INCOMPLETE

The Unfinished Business of Education Reform

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1995

This national study of the general public examines why support for public schools is in jeopardy.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR TEACHERS

A Focus Group Report from Public Agenda for the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education

Media Type: PDF / YEAR: 1995

Based on a series of focus group discussions, this pilot study looks at public attitudes toward teachers' professional development.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR

What Parents Want Children to Learn about America

Media Type: PDF

This ground-breaking study investigates native-born and foreign-born parents' beliefs on whether a set of "American values" should be taught to kids by the public schools and, if so, what this would mean.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Civic Education, Immigration, Voting & Government, Race

ATTITUDES ABOUT TEACHING

An Assessment of Survey Data

Media Type: PDF

For this report, Public Agenda has reviewed and analyzed opinion research on teachers and teaching stretching back over the last decade.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education

I'M CALLING MY LAWYER

In this pilot study, many teachers and school administrators reported that the possibility of being sued or accused of abuse is ever present in their minds.

Media Type: PDF

In this pilot study, many teachers and school administrators reported that the possibility of being sued or accused of abuse is ever present in their minds.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Children & Families

LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL

Young People Talk About Their Hopes and Prospects

Media Type: PDF

This survey of young adults examines the decisions they make about work or college.

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Issue Area(s): K-12 Education, Higher Education, Workforce, Jobs & Economy