Most Americans believe the American higher education system works well, although the federal government must combat a lack of equal opportunity and the rising cost of college, according to a new Educational Testing Service (ETS) report. 

The survey of 1,003 adults shows a marked disconnect in evaluations of K-12 schooling versus higher education: only 50 percent of respondents believe the K-12 system is working well or needs few changes, whereas 72 percent say the same for higher education.  A subsample of business leaders agree more fervently, with 88 percent praising higher education.  Reflecting those numbers, the poll found that 62 percent of adults believe the nation’s K-12 system has not adequately prepared college applicants to succeed.

The public does have its concerns, however, about colleges and universities--based on "lowering the ladder, not the standards," the pollsters explain.  Majorities of adult respondents answered that the higher education system neither offers young people from all backgrounds a chance to go to college (52 percent) nor provides the financial help needed (51 percent).  They also believe the problem lies with rising college tuition (52 percent) and not with decreasing government aid (20 percent).

Nevertheless, the federal government should not back away from higher education, say the respondents; 76 percent of adults support the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and 37 percent want its funding levels to increase.

In fact, respondents look to the federal government to keep higher education affordable. Nearly three-quarters of respondents want the government to limit tuition increases to keep in line with inflation, and a nearly equal percentage favor tax credits for families of college students as well as increasing taxes to expand financial assistance to students and to colleges and universities. The respondents also prefer to base aid on need instead of achievement, 58 percent to 28 percent.

Also, a majority of Americans believe it more important for higher education institutions to be held accountable for the quality of education offered than for how they spend their federal dollars (52 percent to 24 percent).  Many Americans feel the government already is doing just that: 46 percent of respondents say the government is holding the institutions accountable enough.

The entirety of the report, entitled "Quality, Affordability, and Access: Americans Speak on Higher Education," can be read at http://www.ets.org/news/03061801.html. [Mark Henson]

[July 11, 2003]