Center for American ProgressCommon Core Survey of Parents
Prepared by Purple Strategies
September 2014
Methodology:
• Purple Insights completed 827 interviews with parent* voters nationwide• 480 landline phone interviews• 160 cell interviews• 187 online
• Interviews were conducted from September 17-22, 2014.
• Margin of error: +/- 3.4%
*Parents includes parents, stepparents, foster parents, and legal guardians of children under the age of 18.
Not all numbers may add up to 100% due to computer rounding.
Most parents who have heard something about the Common Core claim to understand the standards well
How well would you say you understand the Common Core? Among parents who have heard “not too much” or more about the Common Core
A great deal
Some
Not too much
Not at all
28
28
15
26
18
46
2212
How much have you heard about the Common Core?
64
Net Understand
35
Net Don’t Understand
Yet parents believe many Common Core myths
Based on what you know or have heard about the Common Core, please tell me whether you think that is a true or false statement about the Common Core, or if you aren’t sure.
Mandatory for all states
Displaces classic books and replaces them with books written by foreigners
SPLIT A: An Obama Administration initiative
Adopted by politicians in Washington without the input of local schools
Specifies a reading list for each grade
Disadvantaged students will be further left behind by aggressive testing
Teachers were not involved enough in development
Requires more school testing
Will lead to more teacher testing and eval-uation
Limits teacher independence/flexibility to create their own lessons
SPLIT B: A federal government initiative
Will result in a shared curriculum and common tests
16
16
25
33
33
35
36
40
40
45
49
50
35
27
20
17
9
19
15
12
11
15
8
5 45
43
40
49
48
48
46
57
50
55
58
49
True False Don’t Know
Reform testing so it includes more essays and fewer multiple-choice tests
Reduce the number of standardized tests students take in schools
Create voluntary national education standards establishing shared goals and expectations for students across states
Make education standards more rigorous to prepare kids for college and jobs of the future
Raise national standards so the U.S. can be more competitive with other countries
Develop standards based on conceptual understanding, skills, and problem-solving, rather than memorization
Reform testing so it provides clear feedback to teachers and parents on student strengths and weaknesses
Develop standards with the input of teachers and educators, and not the federal government
Provide teachers and schools flexibility to develop a curriculum that works in the classroom
61
68
74
84
84
88
90
90
91
All Common Core characteristics and goals enjoy widespread support I’m going to read you some things people have proposed to improve public school education standards and evaluation. After each, please tell me whether you favor or oppose that proposal. Showing Net Favor (Strongly + Somewhat)
69% Strongly Favor
70%
70%
59%
59%
52%
41%
43%
30%
Local schools fare better than schools nationwide
On the same scale, how would you grade public schools in your own community?
A20%
B38%
C25%
D11%
F5%
DK2%
58% A or B 41% C or below
Overall, how would you grade K-12 public schools in the United States as a whole – would you grade them an A, B, C, D, or F?
A4%
B27%
C46%
D11%
F6%
DK6%
31% A or B 63% C or below
The Tea Party
Barack Obama
The Republican Party
The Democratic Party
Your Member of Congress
Teachers’ unions
Your local school board
Your local PTA
Public school principals
Public school teachers
36
48
51
52
53
55
71
78
82
88
Local messengers trump national ones
How trustworthy would you find each of the following people, organizations, or groups on the issue of public education in the United States? Showing Very + Somewhat Trustworthy
40% Very Trustworthy
32%
36%
23%
17%
11%
13%
9%
18%
9%