Reality Check is a multi-year Public Agenda project in association with Education Week and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the GE Fund. The series of public opinion surveys are designed to find out what impact the drive to improve education standards is having on the people most directly affected: the teachers, parents and students living under new standards, and the employers and college professors who should see the results.

So far, the people directly involved with the public schools rate student skills more highly than the employers and college professors who deal with the students after graduation. For example, firm majorities of teachers and parents give their schools good ratings, but employers are even more skeptical than in last year's survey, saying students are losing ground on "soft skills" such as motivation and working well with others.

Yet Reality Check suggests that employers may be overlooking one of their most effective tools for change. Students overwhelmingly say having to show their high school transcript to get a job would motivate them to work harder. But most employers say they don't have much faith in school grades, and only 16 percent ask applicants for a transcript.

Teachers indicate that progress is being made in their schools, with more teachers using state standards for guidance. But teachers also are skeptical of many of the accountability proposals endorsed by other groups, often finding them inaccurate and unfair.

Major findings of Reality Check '99 include:

	Perception Gap: There is a wide and growing gap between the way employers and college professors rate the skills of public school graduates and the views of parents, teachers and students. On some measures, the views of employers are even more skeptical than last year.
	High Ratings, Little Info: Parents give high ratings to schools on communication and emphasizing academics, but they admit having little knowledge about how their kids and schools are doing. Compared to teachers, parents underestimate the degree of social promotion that takes place.
	Standards Set: As in last year's survey, majorities of all groups say standards have been set in their local schools, at least in concept. More teachers are using state standards for guidance, but many say social promotion continues and only half say standards have raised their expectations for students.
	Holding Back: Teachers are highly resistant to many measures to increase accountability supported by parents, professors and employers. Teachers reject measures like eliminating tenure for principals and tying financial incentives to performance; most stay ratings tend to be inaccurate and unfair. Teachers say they are rarely evaluated on the basis of student performance.
	Carrots and Sticks: Students are clear about what makes them put in more effort: fear of failure, exit exams, knowing employers look at transcripts, and the desire to get into a good college. But schools, parents and employers may not be pushing the right buttons. For example, few employers review high school transcripts, and most doubt grades accurately reflect student abilities.

For more information about Public Agenda and the Reality Check project, read our press release. Selected findings from the 1998 Reality Check are also available online. We also welcome comments about this study on our message board.

Additional information about education policy and public opinion is available on our Public Agenda Online service. We analyze public opinion data drawn from a wide range of polling organizations, as well as provide background statistics, a news digest and a comprehensive list of organizations involved in the debate. Public Agenda Online offers similar analysis of 18 public policy issues. Visit Learning Curve, our reporter's guide to Education.