Where We Are Now: What Parents, Teachers, Students and the Public Are Saying About Public Schools Today

A presentation by former Public Agenda President Deborah Wadsworth before the Texas Business and Education Coalition.

Thank you very much for the invitation to address your annual meeting. It is good to be back in Texas. At about the time of the creation of the Texas Business Education Coalition, back in the mid-nineties, Public Agenda was invited into the thicket of Austin's effort to address the need for reform of its public schools. Together with the leadership of the Austin Independent School District, IBM, and the Austin American-Statesman we joined forces to plan and nurture a broad-based public discussion of Austin's goals for its public schools and the district's children.

Years before the appearance of No Child Left Behind, here in Austin and in districts throughout Texas, many of which I would visit over the years, business leaders, school reformers, and community-based organizations stepped up to the plate to take on the challenge of addressing the educational needs of all of your youngsters. I have listened today to eloquent presentations of your progress over these past 15 years and to a careful recitation of your agenda of what remains to be accomplished. I have no doubt that there is any lack of will to succeed in this room. And, while you know better than I just how tough the going will be, I believe I can add a useful dimension to your leadership deliberations through an interpretation of Public Agenda's national research over many years about the attitudes and underlying values of the many groups with a stake in the agenda of school reform.

For those who are not familiar with us, Public Agenda is a non-partisan, nonprofit research and citizen education organization whose expertise lies in exploring different points of view and probing beneath surface responses to capture underlying values and concerns -- the "opinion beneath the opinion" as one of our founders, Daniel Yankelovich, puts it. He and Cyrus Vance created Public Agenda 30 years ago to help leaders and experts better understand public priorities and concerns, and to help the public understand more about the problems facing the country and their communities.

Public Agenda has made its reputation by listening very carefully to the voices of the American people and making certain that the authentic voice of the public is part of policy debates on the range of issues that confront us as a nation...from health care and welfare reform to crime, social security, and foreign policy, among others.

For well over a decade, we have focused intensively on education and the public schools conducting dozens of quantitative national, state, and local surveys, hundreds of qualitative focus groups, and literally thousands of individual interviews with corporate leaders, policy makers, school principals and superintendents, public school teachers, students, parents, college professors {including those who teach in the schools of education}, and of course, the general public.

Our studies have been characterized as fair and balanced. It has been remarked from time to time that Public Agenda is not a "gun for hire," and that our dedication to representing what we have heard without bias or preconceptions is what you can count on. We have explored a range of topics from standards and testing to safety and discipline, teacher quality, accountability, integration, parental involvement, vouchers and school choice, among others. We have looked at the perspectives of key sub-groups in the population -- white, African-American, Latino and foreign-born parents. And, not infrequently, our findings challenge the prevailing assumptions of leaders and experts on a wide range of issues.

Few would deny, I suspect, that more than 20 years after the publication of "A Nation at Risk" and well into more than a decade of active education reform that the nation today is facing an infinitely more complex environment, both at home and abroad. The stakes for the country and for the youngsters we are educating couldn't be higher, nor the challenges fiercer.

Delivering quality teaching and inspiring genuine learning in the face of budgetary constraints, battles over federal versus state responsibilities, litigation from unions against state legislatures, and the increasingly relentless and very public displays of the implications of No Child Left Behind is a staggering order, compounded by surging enrollments, serious teacher and principal shortages, and a greater diversity of students than we have ever before attempted to educate.

In light of all that, as well as the ongoing controversies in Congress, statehouses, and local districts, over the specifics of No Child Left Behind, it is nothing short of amazing that Public Agenda and others continue to document virtual unanimity among Americans of every persuasion to implement this serious standards-based education reform agenda -- an agenda that rings true to this very day because it is based on common-sense fundamentals that are consistent with what people have experienced in their own lives.

Large majorities of parents, teachers, employers, and college professors are convinced that most youngsters achieve just a small part of their educational potential and that if you expect more of students, you will get more in return. By ratios of about 2 to 1, teachers, parents, and students also say inner-city youngsters should be expected to reach the same standards as children from more affluent backgrounds. And among various groups of parents of high school students, 78 percent of Latino parents (a higher percentage than among any other ethnic or racial group) believe a college education is absolutely necessary and as important as a high school diploma used to be.

Among students themselves, nearly all acknowledge they are not working as hard as they could; that they take testing seriously; and, but a mere handful (5 percent) say they feel overwhelmed by the pressure. More than eight in ten Americans consider scores on statewide tests a very useful way to evaluate how well their students and schools are performing and majorities continue to support the concept of a high school exit exam. For the most part, tests are thought of as pretty routine and as a reasonable way to measure what students are accomplishing.

All in all, there is broad public endorsement for the concepts and values behind the standards movement and the principles underlying No Child Left Behind. Most communities have now had a taste of what the standards movement really means and so far, parents are giving their schools an initial thumbs up. Majorities of parents, teachers, employers and professors say their own school district has been "careful and reasonable" in putting standards in place. There is virtual unanimity -- 92 percent of parents, 87 percent of teachers -- who favor a district policy that requires students who fail the standardized test to either attend summer school or repeat the grade rather than be promoted. Among those who know that their districts are working to raise standards, only 2 percent of parents, 1 percent of teachers, 2 percent of employers, and 1 percent of professors say local schools should discontinue their current efforts. Safe to say, there is virtually no nostalgia anywhere for returning to the pre-standards policies of the past.

But, there are some troublesome fault lines beneath this solid consensus, particularly among teachers who feel caught between a rock and a hard place and among administrators who feel overburdened by mandates over which they have no control. Teachers believe in higher standards and accountability but almost half say they want some adjustments. A majority feels they are unfairly being held accountable for raising student achievement when so much that affects learning is beyond their control. Their frustration is fueled both by lack of support from parents and by inadequate consultation with their district's leadership. Seventy percent of teachers say they are often "left out of the loop" in their district's decision-making process and that when district leaders talk with them it's to win their support for "what the leadership wants to accomplish"... not to gain a better sense of their issues and concerns.

Uppermost among those concerns, 81 percent of teachers say that parents who "refuse to hold their kids accountable for their behavior or academic performance" are a serious problem at their school. Seventy-six percent of the public agrees that lack of student discipline is a serious problem in their community. To make matters worse, fear of litigation is confirmed by nearly eight in 10 teachers who say students are quick to remind them that they have rights when disciplined and that their parents can sue. Similarly large numbers of teachers complain bitterly of a small number of persistent troublemakers in their schools who should have been removed from regular classrooms, with the vast majority saying the school experience of most students suffers at the expense of a few misbehaving students and that their teaching would be a lot more effective if they didn't have to spend so much time dealing with disruptive students.

Large majorities of teachers express deep passion for their profession but they also say they are unnerved and angered by expectations they consider unrealistic, at the mercy of administrators they don't trust, students who won't try, and parents who just don't seem to care. Critics of the teaching profession acknowledge this litany of distress, but are not entirely sympathetic . Many believe that the way teachers presently enter the profession and think about their jobs is itself the problem and they bring to discussions of reform, a market-driven perspective that proposes some of the very recommendations you have made to the Texas legislature: alternative recruitment and certification schemes, differential compensation packages, and significant reform of the concept of tenure.

Our research has revealed a surprisingly positive response to some of these ideas from teachers, though always with the caveat that few outside the classroom truly understand the challenges they face, and underestimate what is needed to improve student learning. "What they need," teachers say "are schools that make teaching and learning the priorityschools that furnish a respectful, civil, orderly environment and demand student effort and responsibility." More than eight in ten public school teachers say they would rather work in a school where student behavior, parental support, and strong backing from administrators were significantly better than a school that paid a significantly higher salary.

It's hard to overstate the depth of teachers' concern about poor student behavior and lack of parental and administrative support when problems occur. Yet, this issue rarely appears on the agenda of education reform.

As for administrators, superintendents and principals make no bones over how overwhelmed they are by mandates, bureaucracy, and red tape, especially the demands of complying with No Child Left Behind. Money is a big problem for them and one that they say is more severe today than in the past. For large numbers, "insufficient school funding" and disproportionate distribution of resources in today's economic environment, outweigh even their concern about implementing the federal legislation as the most pressing issue they face in their districts. I am certain many would subscribe to many of the particulars of TBEC's recent elaboration of the Principles of School Finance...your definition of Support for Excellence.

Ninety-three percent of superintendents and 88 percent of principals say their district has experienced "an enormous increase in responsibilities and mandates without getting the resources necessary to fulfill them." On top of that, they say that the overwhelming bureaucracy and paperwork that accompanies these required policies preclude their capacity for responsible and timely decision-making. Like their counterparts in other professions, the education leaders we've interviewed say they believe in being held accountable for results, and are willing to step up to the plate to take responsibility for the measure of achievement of the students in their schools and districts.

While they may be unhappy with some of the specifics of No Child Left Behind, and say that the law "will require many adjustments before it can work," almost nine in 10 superintendents and 85 percent of principals believe that the era of testing and accountability is here to stay. Moreover, there is almost total unanimity among the superintendents of large school districts...97 percent of them believe they should have the authority to close failing schools, reassign staff, and reopen under new management. Free us, they say, to make these decisions and we can get the job done.

The CEOs of the nation's school districts convey the sense that they believe they have gained real momentum on raising standards. I would guess that they are anxious not to lose ground and they are very definitely not sitting around waiting to be goaded by the mandates of the federal legislation. Most say it is the schools' responsibility if students do poorly on standardized tests. Strong majorities say there is concerted effort in their district to tackle achievement gaps between white and minority students.

Sadly, though, like their teachers, they inevitably circle back to decry the state of the environment in which they practice their profession as one of the most fundamental stumbling blocks to success. Lack of civility, order and discipline, parents missing in action, bureaucratic distractions, and local politics remain the real subtext that inhibits what these educators are attempting to achieve.

Before concluding, there is one other perspective I would like to illuminate, that of the employers and college professors who hire and teach the graduates of our nation's high schools. Over the past five years, as we have tracked their attitudes, they have continued to express broad dissatisfaction with students' basic skills. Some progress has been made, and you gave evidence of that for Texas here this morning. But, our national figures, which we will be re-testing very shortly with these groups, as recently as two years ago remained pretty grim.

In Public Agenda's 2002 Reality Check, three quarters of employers and professors gave youngsters fair or poor ratings for grammar and spelling and for their ability to write clearly. A recent survey of 120 American corporations reached similar conclusions. Two thirds also find these youngsters lack basic math, good work habits, such as being organized and on time and even motivation and conscientiousness.

Such is the context within which Texans and others across the nation are attempting to improve the public schools. The challenges confronting particular stakeholders are steep and real. And, as the reform movement metastasizes into issues where there is far less unanimity and clarity, than exists around raising standards, misunderstandings and controversies are likely to increase unless we make some concerted efforts to close a number of gaps between various groups of stakeholders.

For example, the widespread support for the underlying values of No Child Left Behind cannot be assumed to translate into consensus over some of the specifics, without attention to the well-documented lack of parental understanding of various aspects of the legislation. On the matter of accountability, and the law's requirement of states to design rewards and penalties for all schools based on their performance, Public Agenda's research and others, indicate significant parental and public confusion and at least initially, a tendency on the part of the public to prefer more support for failing schools rather than the imposition of sanctions. It is counter-intuitive to most people that you would fix what's wrong by reducing resources.

The issue of choice is also confusing to many who have little understanding of the systemic arguments made by reformers and even less responsiveness to the "consumer or market-based" rationale for charters or vouchers. For most people, as you might expect, these are not preferred solutions. The public, and parents in particular, want a public school system that works and a good school in their neighborhood where their children will be safe.

The matter of discipline, safety, and order is another candidate for serious discussion. Unless you believe that parents, teachers, and students nationwide routinely lie on survey after survey, concern about student behavior is nearly indisputable. "Yet," as my colleague Jean Johnson writes, "discipline seems to be the ugly duckling of high-level education debate." Despite interest among parents and teachers in talking about possible solutions, it never seems to make it onto the agenda....not even onto your list of recommendations to the 79th session of the Texas legislature.

And finally, there is no more profound gap in perception and understanding than that between parents and students, on the one hand, and employers and professors on the other regarding how well our schools are performing academically these days. Interestingly, 67 percent of parents and 73 percent of high school students believe that a diploma from a local high school means a youngster has mastered at least basic skills. Astonishingly, just 39 percent of employers and less than one in three professors agree.

TBEC's agenda for improving the work force is ambitious and straightforward. But there's an equally important job to be done in talking with parents and students about how the US is going to meet the challenge posed by what is now indisputable a truly global economy, if our scientists are not the most creative, our business leaders the most innovative, and our workers the most highly skillednot an easy task when other nations are seeking the same goals.

David Broder of the Washington Post addressed this issue just two weeks ago in an editorial celebrating the National Governors Association's new focus on "that backwater of learning known as high school." He cited data from NGA and from the business organization, Achieve showing how serious a problem we face given that close to 30 percent of high school freshmen fail to graduate; more than 25 percent who enter four-year colleges fail to return for their sophomore year; in two-year institutions, he says the dropout rate is twice as high; and, that more than half of today's college students are placed in at least one remedial math or English class, "learning skills they should have acquired in high school." Texas, along with Indiana and Arkansas, by the way, is cited by NGA as a state that has taken major steps to toughen its high school curriculum and graduation requirements.

Joining President Bush's call for attention to high schools, Virginia's Governor Warner, chairman of NGA and their new initiative, claims that one of the most difficult challenges ahead is simply getting different parts of the education system to talk with each other. "That is where governors can help," he says, "in opening up communications." That is where TBEC can also help.

Confidence in leadership and the nation's institutions has been slipping across society. Gaps in honest communication between leaders and the public are many, and often profound, particularly when it comes to matters of education. We need to get beyond the habit of pointing at problems with alarm, which the media are so good at, to helping people really wrestle with thoughtful alternative solutions, pointing out pros and cons of various approaches and helping people feel as if they're not simply targets of spin. There are no easy answers and we surely can't wait for perfect solutions. But giving people time and repeated opportunities to absorb new information and ideas and listening to their responses with the intent of accepting feedback, fine-tuning solutions is the necessary first step.

Your agenda is staggering enough, but unless you are also willing to insist, not only in your messages, but also in your actions, that parents and the public become essential participants in the kind of deliberations that are prerequisite to achieving your goals, lasting success will elude you. I, for one am willing to bet on Texas and wish you, in your own words, "Full speed ahead."