UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 10, Page 1
November 3, 1994
State survey measures perceptions of schools
A number of the elements of Delaware's effort to reform public
education have a high level of support from citizens throughout the
state, according to a new survey on "Public Perceptions of the
Conditions of Education in Delaware," conducted by the Delaware
Education Research and Development Center (R&D Center) of the
University.
The survey was conducted to inform policymakers and others about
the public's views of the education system. It is the first of a
program of annual polls designed to track the perceptions of
Delaware's citizens regarding schools in the state.
The preliminary results of the survey were released Oct. 20 at a
meeting of the State Board of Education in Dover.
The study revealed high support from those surveyed for many of
the objectives and actions of current efforts to improve education in
Delaware:
* Supporting training and development of professionals in the
schools (endorsed by 89 percent of those responding);
* Establishing statewide standards for students (supported by
88 percent);
* Giving teachers more authority for decisions within the
schools (86 percent);
* Holding schools accountable by reporting test scores for
each student (83 percent); and
* Holding school districts accountable by reporting test
scores for each school district (82 percent).
The survey also indicated a need to better communicate with the
public about the specifics of efforts to improve the schools as only
20 percent of those surveyed knew the name of the state's reform
effort (New Directions for Education in Delaware).
Another important finding was that Delawareans also indicated a
willingness to pay more taxes to improve schools, with 64 percent
responding that they would be willing to pay more taxes to support
schools in their own communities and 62 percent saying they would be
willing to pay more taxes to improve schools in poorer communities.
In other findings, the survey indicated:
* Education is considered important or very important to
future success in life by 98 percent of Delawareans;
* In evaluating the public schools, 80 percent give them a
grade of C or better (with 33 percent giving a B or better
and 3 percent giving an A or better), while 20 percent
graded them at D or F;
* Suggestions for improving the schools included "more
emphasis on basics" (which 92 percent considered important);
"stricter discipline" (endorsed by 91 percent); and
"emphasize career education and development of marketable
skills" (89 percent), while those thought least likely to
help the schools included "increasing the amount of
homework" (59 percent) and "building new schools" (41
percent);
* In terms of school improvement, respondents had the greatest
faith in those who work most closely with students-72
percent indicate "some" or "a great deal of" confidence in
teachers' ability to deal with the problems of the schools;
66 percent hold that confidence for principals, while that
confidence level declined to 33 percent for the state
Department of Public Instruction and 29 percent for the
state legislature;
* Those responding thought parents and community members
should have more say in a range of matters related to the
schools, with 77 percent suggesting more say in "determining
the schools that children attend," 69 percent advocating
more say in "discipline policies" and 62 percent suggesting
more say in "deciding how school funds should be spent" and
"establishing academic standards"; and
* An overwhelming portion of the respondents (80 percent) said
that parental choice in school assignment would result in
"more involvement" in education.
According to Paul LeMahieu, director of the R&D Center, "This
survey marks the first step in the center's development of an
authoritative database on Delaware education from kindergarten through
12th grade.
"We hope to promote widespread discussion about Delaware's
schools: their needs and priorities, successes and failures, as well
as the impact of policies and efforts to improve them. Surveys like
this one are one way to initiate that discussion," he said.
The survey was developed by staff of the R&D Center, with advice
and direction from a special work group that included educational
professionals, policy makers and the public.
After a field test in April and May, the telephone survey was
conducted from June 1-Aug. 19 with 911 citizens throughout the state
contacted by trained interviewers in the University's Center for
Applied Demographic and Survey Research. The scientifically developed
random sample included 303 persons from Kent County, 306 from New
Castle County and 302 from Sussex County.
The R&D Center analyzed the data and adjusted it from the county
samples to reflect the relative size of each, in terms of the
statewide population.
In addition to the report issued Oct. 20, the data also have been
analyzed to compare households with Delaware public school students to
households with no children in school and to compare households with
public school students to households with students in private schools.
Other analyses supporting particular questions or interests also are
possible.
The full text of the report is available from: Delaware Education
Research and Development Center, 105 Willard Hall Education Building,
University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716.
The R&D Center is a non-partisan, independent center supported by
the University, the state and private sources through the Delaware
Business Public Education Council. Research is devoted to efforts that
explore the consequences of state policy and reform efforts, including
the development of coherent standards for student achievement, student
assessment, professional development and credentials, curriculum
design and educational finance.