A presentation of key findings from a national survey of 800 registered voters

conducted September 10-12, 2007.

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On behalf of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, Public Opinion Strategies and Peter D. Hart Research Associates conducted a national survey of 800 registered voters from September 10-12, 2007. The survey has a margin of error of + 3.46%.

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Voters are not completely dissatisfied with their local schools. Just over one in ten voters might consider their schools failing.

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Overall Rating of Schools in School District

Most give their local schools positive grades. Very few see schools as failing overall.

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There is broad recognition that schools are meeting the needs of students and the American workforce in the 21st century.

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Voters generally are not happy with the direction our schools are headed with respect to ensuring we have the skills to

compete.Overall Right Direction/Wrong Direction

-6%

44%50%

Right Direction Wrong Direction

22% Strongly

35%

Strongly

Would you say our country is moving in the right direction or the wrong direction in educating our youth to make sure they have the

skills to compete in a global economy?

7

13%

42%39%

Four out of 10 voters think we are falling behind other countries.

Impressions of U.S. Education

-29%Based on what you might have seen, read, or heard, would you say that...

Other developed countries are doing a better job than the U.S. preparing their children for the jobs of the 21st Century;

The U.S. is doing a better job than other developed countries preparing our children for the jobs of the 21st Century; or,

The U.S. is performing about as well as other developed countries.

U.S. Doing Better

Other Countries

Doing Better

Performing About As

Well

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Voters are clear…

We are living in a different era that requires new thinking in our approach to educating our youth.

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Say the things students need to

learn in school today are different than what they were 20

years ago.

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And, voters do not believe our schools are keeping pace with our changing educational needs.

Overall Impressions of U.S. Education

-22%

38%

60%

How good a job do you think schools have done keeping up with the changing educational needs to ensure students have the skills they need to succeed – An excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or a poor job?

Excellent / Good Job

Fair / Poor Job

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What schools are doing well:

Teaching computer literacy and technology skills

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What schools are not doing well:

Students are not “workforce ready.”

They do not have the breadth of skills to succeed in today’s world.

They are not well-rounded enough.

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Schools get mixed reviews:

Teaching the basics such as reading, math, and science.

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There are skill areas voters believe are critically important in the 21st Century that are not being taught well in our schools today.

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Participants in the survey were asked to rate a series of 14 skills.*

*Please see appendix for exact descriptions.

Reading comprehension Computer and technology

skills Critical thinking and problem

solving Ethics and social

responsibility Written communications Teamwork and collaboration Oral communications

Life-long learning and self-direction

Mathematics Leadership Creativity and innovation Media literacy Global awareness Science

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Respondents rated the skills on a 0-10 IMPORTANCE scale (zero = not important, 10 = very important).

Respondents rated the skills on a 0-10 HOW WELL are schools teaching these skills (0 = not well at all, 10 = very well).

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% Important (8-10)

% Doing Well (8-10)

Computer and tech skills 87% 48%

Reading comprehension 85% 22%

Critical thinking and problem solving 80% 18%

Written communications 78% 17%

Oral communications 77% 16%

Ethics and social responsibility 75% 15%

Creativity and innovation 73% 19%

Teamwork and collaboration 73% 20%

Life-long learning and self-direction 72% 12%

Media literacy 67% 15%

Mathematics 66% 26%

Global awareness 66% 13%

Leadership 66% 17%

Science 62% 20%

There is a substantial gap between how important voters perceive each skill and how well they believe schools are actually teaching that skill.

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Voters want more than just the basic skills taught in our schools.

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People want more than just the basics for kids.

Basics vs. More Than Just Basics

Need more than just the basics

And if you had to choose which statement you agree with more, would you say you agree more with...

Those who say we need a stronger focus on the basics of reading, writing and math in our

schools.

...or...

Those who say we need more than just the basics, and need to incorporate a broader range

of skills being taught in schools.

Stronger focus on the basics

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Three-quarters of voters want there to be at least equal emphasis on 21st Century Skills.

21st Century Skills Vs. Basic Skills

21%25%

53%

A recent survey of over four hundred employers across the United States found that 21st Century skills such as computer and technology skills, critical thinking, self-direction, and communication skills are more important to success in the workplace than are basic knowledge skills such as reading, writing, and math. In your opinion, how should schools seek to balance the teaching of 21st Century skills and basic knowledge skills...

Emphasis on 21st

Century Skills

Emphasis on basic

skills

Equal emphasis on both

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Incorporating 21st Century Skills into the curriculum is something that voters believe schools can and should do.

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Nine out of 10 voters agree more of these skills need to be incorporated into the classroom.

Of respondents believe these are

important skills that schools can and should be able to incorporate into their curriculum.

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In fact, there is near universal agreement that these skills are critical to our future economic success.

Of respondents feel it is important to our country’s future economic success

that our children learn these 21st Century skills, such as computer and

technology skills, critical thinking, self-direction,

and communication skills.

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Parents comprised 31% of our sample, and 68% were non-parents. There are some subtle differences between the two sub-groups.

In general, parents are a little more generous toward public schools...

Overall 63% of parents offer a grade of “A” or “B” to their local public schools, compared to just 48% of non-parents.

Parents also offer slightly higher marks to schools for how well they are teaching certain skills, including areas such as reading comprehension, math, teamwork, and critical thinking and problem solving.

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However, parents and non-parents are in close agreement with respect to how our schools are preparing kids for the 21st Century...

Forty percent (40%) of parents and 43% of non-parents express concern other developed countries are doing a better job than the U.S. at preparing children for 21st Century jobs.

Likewise, parents (59%) and non-parents (61%) say our schools are doing only a “fair” or “poor” jobs keeping pace with our educational needs.

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As such, they also agree schools need to focus on more than just basic skills in the classroom and need to incorporate a broader range of skills (68% of parents and 66% of non-parents agree with this statement).

A majority of parents (51%) and non-parents (54%) believe there needs to be at least as much emphasis on 21st Century skills as there is on basic skills. Another 20% of parents and 21% of non-parents would actually like to see more emphasis on 21st Century skills.

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Reading comprehension, that is, the ability to read and understand written materials. Computer and technology skills, that is, using technology and communications tools to access,

manage, evaluate, and create information in order to function in a knowledge economy. Critical thinking and problem solving, that is, the ability to use knowledge, facts and data to solve

workplace problems. Ethics and Social Responsibility, that is, the ability to demonstrate integrity and to act responsibly

with the interests of the larger community in mind. Written communications, that is, the ability to write memos, letters, and complex technical reports

clearly and effectively. Teamwork and collaboration, that is, the ability to work with diverse teams, negotiate with others

and manage conflict. Oral communications, that is, the ability to communicate thoughts and ideas clearly and have public speaking skills. Life-long learning and self-direction, that is, going beyond basic mastery of skills to expand one's

own knowledge and seek opportunities to gain expertise at their own initiative. Mathematics, that is, mastery of math skills such as algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Leadership, that is, using interpersonal skills to coach and develop others and achieve common

goals. Creativity and innovation, that is, the ability to demonstrate originality, communicate new ideas to

others, and use knowledge in inventive ways. Media literacy, that is, the ability to understand and interpret messages communicated through the

media and how these messages can influence beliefs and behaviors. Global awareness, that is, the ability to understand global issues, learn and work with people from

diverse cultures, and understand the cultures of other nations, including the use of non-English languages.

Science, that is, mastery of skills such as biology, chemistry, and physics.Ranked by Importance %9-10