Policymakers should take care that testing and standards-based reform don't turn into a "Johnny-One-Note" approach to school improvement, a leading public opinion poll group warned on Wednesday. Support for challenging standards and assessments is still strong among parents, students, teachers and administrators, the New York-based polling group Public Agenda reports in the latest installment of its "Reality Check" series, a regular survey on public attitudes toward education. But the public wants these reforms to be pursued as part of a comprehensive approach to school improvement, said Public Agenda executive director Jean Johnson, who was also an author of the latest report, "Reality Check 2006: Is Support for Standards and Testing Fading?" 

The results of the latest survey, she says, offer a stern warning to policymakers. "The strong focus on standards and testing is beginning to strike key segments of the public as a 'Johnny-One-Note' approach," Johnson writes.

Particularly revealing was a survey question that asks parents which candidate they would support in a local school board election based on the education strategies they emphasize from the stump. Forty-five percent of parents said they would vote for the candidate who believes "if the public schools finally got more money and smaller classes, they could do a better job." Coming in a distant second, at 22 percent parent support, was the candidate who campaigns for more testing and higher standards to ensure kids will master the skills they need.  Even less support was given to the hypothetical candidate who backed school vouchers (19 percent) and charter schools (9 percent).

There is a feeling "among most parents, students, teachers and school administrators that standards and testing are not the be all and end all of school reform," the report stresses. "All groups cite problems related to student behavior, motivation and cooperation as more urgent than low standards."

Asked to identify the most pressing problems in schools, parents and students said education underfunding was their top concern, followed by "too many kids who lack respect for teachers and use bad language." More than twice as many parents named underfunding as a bigger problem than low academic standards and low expectations for students.

"The Reality Check 2006 results pose a fundamental strategic question for leaders who believe higher standards are essential," Johnson warns. "Just how long will communities continue to support the movement without hearing some serious discussion of their other pressing issues as well?"

Testing, Staffing Concerns
The Public Agenda survey mirrors many points of concern identified by the AFT when it comes to testing (see statement). More than 70 percent of teachers say that their school uses too many standardized tests, almost three times the number of educators who said the level of testing was about right. These numbers are in line with a recent survey of AFT teachers showing that 80 percent of members agree there is currently too much testing in schools and 87 percent feel that testing has pushed other important subjects and activities out of the curriculum.

The Public Agenda poll also touches on the need for "smart" use of testing data. More than 70 percent of superintendents and principals believed that making student testing data available in a more timely and useful way would be an effective way to improve educational leadership. The poll also suggests administrators believe the "teacher quality crisis" has been overstated as a threat to public schools. More than five times as many superintendents selected "insufficient funding" over "a shortage of really effective teachers" as their district's biggest problem. Principals cited insufficient funding, meeting the requirements of No Child Left Behind, too much bureaucracy and paperwork, and "something else" as bigger concerns than a shortage of really effective teachers.

The Public Agenda findings also support several of the AFT's recommendations for improving the No Child Left Behind Act. The union is calling for a ban on unnecessary and duplicative testing, assessment data provided to teachers and parents in a timely and user-friendly manner, and a new "learning environment index" to help identify and fix schools that lack adequate facilities, safe conditions and the financial and professional supports necessary to succeed.

June 21, 2006