UpDate - Vol. 15, No. 9, Page 3
October 26, 1995
Educational study; Center releases results of public opinion survey

     Some 98 percent of Delawareans consider education important to
future success, but only 4 percent give their own public schools a
grade of "A" and 34 percent giving them a grade of "B." This is
according to the "1995 Public Poll on the Condition of Education in
Delaware," released Oct. 19, by the Delaware Education Research and
Development Center (R&D Center) of the University of Delaware and the
Delaware Department of Public Instruction.
     The poll was made public for the first time at a meeting of the
State Board of Education in Dover.
     Strongest suggestions for ways to help schools earn an "A"
included:
        * Improve discipline in classrooms;
        * Put more emphasis on the basics-the three R's;
        * Make schools safer;
        * Emphasize career education and development of marketable
          skills;
        * Improve the quality of teaching and teachers' relationships
          with parents; and
        * Provide more opportunities for teacher training.
     
     According to Paul LeMahieu, director of the R&D Center, "The
survey results confirm Delaware's citizens' concerns for their
schools. They also give the state a unique capacity to know citizens'
views on school quality and finance, as well as efforts at
improvements. It also explores timely issues, such as school choice
and governance."
     According to the poll, Delawareans were not in favor of
lengthening school days or school years or of building more schools as
a means of improving education.
     Student discipline, student behavior and safety were the three
most frequently listed problems facing public schools.
     To improve schools, 64 percent of those responding indicated that
they are willing to pay more taxes for schools in their own community,
and 62 percent would be willing to pay more taxes to improve the
schools in poorer communities.
     Public school choice was favored by 76 percent, and 74 percent
said parents would to be more involved in their children's schools if
they had a choice.
     The poll revealed that most Delawareans do not understand how
schools are funded and found that 32 percent of the citizens polled
were aware of New Directions initiatives, with 41 percent of that
group saying they are important to the success of education in
Delaware.
     Administered with the support of the Center for Applied
Demographic and Survey Research in the UD College of Urban Affairs and
Public Policy, the survey is the second in a program of annual polls
designed to track the perceptions of Delaware's citizens regarding
schools in the state.
     From May 18 through June 28, 1995, telephone interviews were
conducted with 937 citizens throughout the state, including 330
individuals from New Castle County, 307 from Kent County and 300 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.
     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.
                                                          -Beth Thomas