NEW YORK -- An eyeopening national study released today found public high school students respect their teachers as professionals and trust them for advice, but are turned off by the behavior of many of their classmates.

The study by Public Agenda, a nonprofit research organization, surveyed 1,008 teenagers nationally about their everyday experience attending public high school. Teachers won high marks for knowledge of their subjects, treating students with respect and challenging their classes academically. But fellow classmates got flunked on issues ranging from swearing to doing drugs.

Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the nonpartisan study is believed to be the first nationwide survey that compares the views of teachers, parents and students in both small and large high schools on their attitudes regarding the academic and social climate found in today's schools. Teachers and parents in small high schools (500 students or less) were more positive about their experiences than those in large high schools with 1,500 or more students; but for students, school size often made little difference.

Two-thirds of students said they were happy with their school, and at least seven in ten said there was strong school spirit. But relatively large numbers of students indicated there were significant problems with drug and alcohol abuse, disrespect towards fellow students and teachers, cursing, fighting, bullying, cheating, and other ills.

Teachers and public education won a remarkable vote of confidence from high school students across the board, said Deborah Wadsworth, Public Agenda's president. But what the teens tell us about their classmates is not so reassuring. The survey strongly suggests that the social ills of adolescence follow teenagers into their schools whether they are large or small.

The Kids Are Not Alright

Asked about the prevalence of various adolescent ills in their schools, the teens in the survey provided revealing insights:

• Majorities of teens (64 percent in large schools, 55 percent in small schools) say their school has a serious problem with too many students who abuse drugs and alcohol;
• More than three in four (81 percent in large schools, 76 percent in small schools) say they hear frequent cursing in the hallways and cafeteria; about one third (34 percent in large schools, 32 percent in small schools) say their school has a serious problem with bullying;
• Nearly half (46 percent) of students attending large schools say they see serious fights at least once a month in their school, a third (34 percent) of students in small schools also report fighting;
• About four in 10 students (42 percent in large schools, 43 percent in small schools) say their school has problems with too many students cheating on tests, and with too many of their classmates getting away without doing their homework (43 percent in large schools, 37 percent in small schools);
• About a third of students (31 percent in large schools, 35 percent in small schools) said their classmates treat each other with respect; for teachers, the results are more grim - only 22 percent of small school and 16 percent of large school students believe most of their classmates treat teachers with respect.

The data indicate that students have serious concerns about safety and disruption in their school environments, said Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation's work to sponsor small schools is aimed at creating safer learning environments in which all students can focus on their studies and achieve.

Students' Pets?

While classmates scored low for behavior in the survey, teachers came away with high grades from students. Large majorities of teens (71 percent in large schools, 79 percent in small schools) said they have an adult in school they can to turn to for help or advice. Even parents made out well: 69 percent of teens in large schools and 81 percent in small schools said their parents usually attend parent-teacher conferences.

Asked to assess the performance of their teachers, students handed out the following grades:

• About eight in 10 (79 percent in large schools, 82 percent in small schools) said virtually all of their teachers know a lot about the subject they teach;
• Three-quarters of students in large high schools and 81 percent in small schools said virtually all teachers treat students with respect;
• Over 60 percent in both large (64 percent) and small (61 percent) high schools said virtually all of their teachers give students extra help when they fall behind, and that their teachers challenge them to do better and learn more (64 percent in large schools, 67 percent in small schools.)

High School Rocks

Feelings about their schools also ran strong among students. Three-quarters (76 percent) of large school students and 53 percent of small school students said they had a lot of courses to choose from, and more than half (60 percent large schools, 54 percent small schools) said there was strong emphasis on computers and technology. Very few in either large (9 percent) or small (15 percent) high schools complained about a lack of after-school activities or clubs.

While students in large and small high schools shared similar experiences in many regards, there were a few notable differences. Large high schools were reported more frequently (76-53 percent) as offering wide academic choices; kids in small high schools were more likely (60-45 percent) to say virtually all their teachers alert parents when students fall behind.

On the whole, students' reports about their school experiences are fairly similar regardless of what size school they attend, said Wadsworth. But some serious social problems also seem to be broadly present in the nation's high schools, regardless of their size. Problems with drugs, cheating, cursing and lack of respect are symptomatic of a surly, rough-edged teen world that may well transcend the academic and organizational benefits offered in smaller schools.

Small Schools, Many Benefits

At a time when school enrollments have tripled the percentage of high schools with over 1,000 students, many reformers advocate reducing school size as a worthwhile step to improve public education. New York, Chicago and other major cities have been pursuing small schools strategies as part of their reform efforts.

Teachers and parents in small schools were more likely to cite the attention given to students, prevalence of small classes and resistance to social promotion. But those in large schools were more likely to report that their schools provide a wide array of academic courses.

Not Ready for Primetime?

The survey results suggest that, for now, neither teachers nor parents see reducing school size as a top priority. Other reforms, such as reducing class size, instilling better discipline and increasing teacher pay, are equally valid and promising to both groups. Seven of 10 teachers surveyed said small classes are more important than small schools. Among parents, 47 percent said smaller classes are more important, while 43 percent said class and school size are equally important.

Public Agenda's research suggests that very few people outside the circle of reformers have yet to be really exposed to this idea, said Wadsworth. Small indeed may be attractive both intuitively and in actual experience. But neither parents nor teachers in this study have yet to identify large schools as their most serious concern.

Such a blank slate on this issue, however, can offer an opportunity for sober discussion at the local level for incorporating small schools as part of a menu for school reform, she added.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 70 percent of high school students attend schools with more than 1,000 students. Numerous cities have been actively pursuing initiatives to reverse the trend towards large high schools and the federal government has offered financial support to schools in 39 states through the Smaller Learning Communities Program.

The Public Agenda survey, which did not focus on model small schools, was conducted last year of parents, teachers and students selected randomly from across the country. Most of the respondents for smaller high schools reside in rural areas; most in large high schools come from cities or the suburbs.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports the development of new, small focused high schools and the transformation of large struggling schools into smaller, personalized learning communities. Public Agenda, a nonprofit organization with a 25-year history of conducting nonpartisan public opinion research, takes no position on the small schools issue and exercised complete discretion in undertaking its research. Public Agenda takes full responsibility for the study results.

Public Agenda's Web site (www.publicagenda.org) includes a summary of the findings, data charts and other information related to the report. A complete copy of the report can be downloaded from the site at no charge until March 13, 2002. A print copy of the report is also available from Public Agenda for $10, plus $2 shipping and handling.

Sizing Things Up: What Parents, Teachers and Students Think about Large and Small High Schools, by Jean Johnson, Ann Duffett, Steve Farkas and Kathleen Collins, is based on three nationwide surveys with 801 parents of children in public high schools, 920 public high school teachers and 1,008 public high school students. The surveys of parents and teachers were conducted in spring 2001, and the survey of students was conducted in fall 2001. In preparation for the fielding of the surveys, Public Agenda conducted 11 focus groups, a thorough literature review and a series of in-depth interviews with education experts. The margin of error for each of the parent, teacher and student samples was plus or minus three percentage points.

Public Agenda is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research organization, located in New York City, and is well respected for its influential public opinion polls and its balanced citizen education materials. Founded in 1975 by Cyrus R. Vance, the former U.S. secretary of state, and Daniel Yankelovich, the social scientist and author, its mission is to inform leaders about the public's views and to inform citizens about government policy.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people's lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community. Led by Bill Gates' father, William H. Gates, Sr., and Patty Stonesifer, the Seattle-based foundation has an asset base of $24.2 billion.