The Public Supports Public Education

Public Agenda has out its Reality Check 2006, a survey of parents, teachers, and administrators on issues related to public education. If the privatizers and boot camp enthusiasts, in and out of ED, cared what the public thinks, they would find something to chew on in this result:

Reality Check 2006 shows that relatively few parents, teachers, principals or superintendents see more of the same as the best course for the future. In this year's survey, respondents were asked to choose among four hypothetical candidates for the local school board –- one running on a platform of standards and testing, a second backing vouchers, a third backing charter schools, and a fourth calling for more money for schools and smaller classes. Among parents, the standards and testing candidate comes in a distant second to a candidate backing smaller classes and more funding. Fewer than one in four parents picked the standards candidate out of the four options. Among the educators, support for a school board candidate focusing primarily on standards and testing is in the single digits.

The actual numbers for the hypothetical candidates:

More money and smaller classes 45%
More testing and higher standards 22%
School Vouchers 19%
Charter Schools 9%

Does this give us some indication of how out of touch this Admninistration is with its citizens?