ACADEMIC STANDARDS AND EDUCATIONAL ISSUES SURVEY June 1997

Columnist : Lincoln Institute

1.) How knowledgeable do you consider yourself to be on the subject of academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Very Knowledgable 30% 32% 41% 35% 26% 23%
Fairly Knowledgable 64% 68% 55% 63% 65% 69%
Not Very
Knowledgable
5% 4% 9% 8%
Know Nothing 1% 2%

 

2.) Should your school district utilize prescribed academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 83% 62% 93% 82% 84% 79%
No 10% 24% 3% 14% 13% 9%
No Answer 7% 14% 4% 4% 3% 12%

 

3.) Should your Intermediate Unit (IU) utilize prescribed academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 67% 50% 71% 63% 65% 72%
No 22% 35% 20% 29% 24% 16%
No Answer 11% 15% 9% 8% 11% 12%

 

4.) Should the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania develop and implement a set of academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 78% 67% 81% 78% 77% 78%
No 17% 29% 16% 16% 20% 13%
No Answer 5% 4% 3% 6% 3% 9%

 

5.) Do you endorse the concept of Outcomes Based Education (OBE)?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 53% 50% 64% 71% 49% 42%
No 37% 41% 24% 20% 43% 49%
No Answer 10% 9% 12% 9% 8% 9%

 

6.) Do you approve of the Commonwealth’s current prescribed educational standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 42% 48% 49% 49% 41% 31%
No 45% 43% 43% 45% 40% 53%
No Answer 13% 9% 8% 6% 19% 16%

 

7.) Do you understand the differences between the Commonwealth’s “outcomes” and the concept of “standards” that the Commonwealth is currently developing?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 70% 80% 71% 80% 67% 64%
No 24% 14% 28% 16% 22% 30%
No Answer 6% 4% 1% 4% 11% 6%

 

8.) Should students statewide have to pass an examination to demonstrate that they have met all of the state’s academic standards before they are awarded their diplomas and graduate?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 66% 65% 66% 60% 55% 78%
No 28% 30% 30% 36% 34% 17%
No Answer 6% 5% 4% 4% 11% 5%

 

9.) If the Commonwealth were to require students to pass an examination and demonstrate that they have met all of the state’s academic standards. should the exam be developed and administered by the State Education Department or by individual school districts with state oversight?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Education Dept. 37% 45% 31% 37% 30% 45%
School Districts 59% 50% 61% 57% 67% 54%
No Answer 4% 5% 8% 6% 3% 1%

 

10.) Do you think a majority of the general public want prescribed statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 68% 61% 78% 69% 62% 66%
No 23% 39% 19% 24% 24% 22%
No Answer 9% 3% 7% 14% 12%

 

11.) Should statewide academic standards apply to college bound students only?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 5% 9% 3% 4% 2% 8%
No 92% 91% 94% 94% 93% 90%
No Answer 3% 3% 2% 5% 2%

 

12.) Should remediation assistance be made available to those students who do not meet statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 89% 87% 95% 96% 88% 82%
No 6% 4% 1% 6% 12%
No Answer 5% 9% 3% 4% 6% 6%

 

13.) If remediation assistance is made available to those students who have not met state academic standards, how should this remediation be funded and administered?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Funded & Administered by the state 23% 19% 16% 12% 25% 31%
Funded & Administered by the school districts 5% 3% 6% 6% 7%
Funded by the state and Administered by the school districts 66% 71% 76% 80% 66% 49%
Funded by the school and Administered by the Intermediate Unit 6% 10% 5% 2% 3% 13%

 

14.) Do you believe that the Commonwealth’s teachers have played a significant role in developing Pennsylvania’s new statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 23% 32% 24% 32% 16% 22%
No 59% 45% 62% 62% 59% 57%
No Opinion 18% 23% 14% 6% 25% 21%

 

15.) Should the general public have input in the development of statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 72% 91% 78% 70% 71% 64%
No 25% 9% 17% 24% 24% 36%
No Opinion 3% 5% 6% 5%

 

16.) Should the business community play a role in the development of statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 83% 91% 84% 86% 83% 78%
No 14% 9% 12% 12% 15% 19%
No Opinion 3% 4% 2% 2% 3%

 

17.) If the general public is permitted to have input in the development of statewide academic standards, what form should this participation take?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Statewide public hearings 6% 5% 1% 21% 4% 4%
Statewide citizen questionnaires 13% 23% 14% 4% 11% 17%
Statewide citizen focus groups 10% 14% 9% 13% 8%
Public input through calls & letters to Education Department 4% 4% 2% 6% 3%
All of the above 67% 72% 67% 64% 66% 68%

 

18.) Which group should have the most influence over the final development of statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
School Administrators 7% 9% 7% 9% 11% 1%
School Directos 2% 5% 3% 4% 1%
Public 2% 7% 1% 1%
Teachers 25% 5% 17% 26% 19% 43%
Business 2%
All Play = Role 63% 81% 66% 59% 68% 55%

 

19.) How much time do you believe is necessary to develop appropriate and effective statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
6 Months 2% 5% 3% 4%
1 Year 20% 32% 16% 20% 22% 20%
1½ Years 7% 18% 12% 6% 3% 4%
2 Years 49% 41% 47% 38% 56% 53%
Other 11% 9% 20% 9% 11%
No Opinion 11% 4% 12% 12% 10% 12%

 

20.) Does a majority of your local school board support statewide academic standards?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 34% 48% 55% 47% 20% 21%
No 16% 24% 15% 18% 11% 17%
No Opinion 50% 28% 30% 35% 69% 62%

 

21.) Do you think statewide academic standards have proven to be workable and successful in other states?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 47% 55% 53% 57% 33% 48%
No 17% 14% 17% 22% 17% 14%
No Opinion 36% 31% 30% 21% 50% 38%

 

22.) Are national academic standards a good idea?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 56% 50% 61% 64% 48% 57%
No 35% 40% 34% 30% 42% 29%
No Opinion 9% 10% 5% 6% 10% 14%

 

23.) Do you think national academic standards have proven to be workable and successful in other nations?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 36% 32% 43% 45% 22% 39%
No 23% 32% 28% 18% 24% 18%
No Opinion 41% 36% 29% 37% 54% 43%

 

24.) Are you in favor of Act 84, which mandates “Agency Shop” — requiring non- union members to pay union fees as a condition of employment — as a negotiating item?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 32% 10% 12% 24% 29% 58%
No 60% 86% 86% 60% 59% 35%
No Opinion 8% 4% 2% 16% 12% 7%

 

25.) Do you believe that elected school board directors should give union officials the right to demand fees from non-union school employees as a contracted condition of employment?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 26% 5% 10% 18% 22% 51%
No 63% 86% 89% 64% 66% 37%
No Opinion 11% 9% 1% 18% 12% 12%

 

26.) Do you believe that Act 84, the “Agency Shop” law, should be repealed?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 58% 76% 88% 55% 56% 34%
No 29% 5% 11% 23% 26% 55%
No Opinion 13% 19% 1% 22% 18% 11%

 

27.) Do you believe that unions should be required to represent all members of a school bargaining unit, even those who are not union members?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Yes 52% 38% 50% 39% 54% 60%
No 37% 48% 46% 41% 31% 31%
No Opinion 11% 14% 4% 20% 15% 9%

 

28.) Do you believe that Act 195, the school bargaining law, and Act 84, the “agency shop” forced dues law, are working to the detriment or support of Pennsylvania’s system of education?

Codes Agg SD SV CC P T
Detriment 45% 75% 69% 40% 37% 28%
Support 28% 5% 13% 27% 26% 48%
No Opinion 27% 20% 18% 33% 37% 24%

 

CODE: 
Agg = Aggregate/Total of all categories of responses
SD = School Board Presidents
SV = Superintendents
CC = Curriculum Coordinators
P = Principals
T = Teachers

The Lincoln Institute’s Academic Standards and Educational Issues Survey was mailed on May 23, 1997 to 4,000 Pennsylvania educators. As of the survey response deadline of June 16, 1997, 343 total responses were received including questionnairs from 23 school board presidents, 78 superintendents, 51 curriculum supervisors, 89 principals and 102 teachers.


THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL QUESTION WAS ASKED OF SUPERINTENDENTS ONLY:

1.) During the past five years, has your district contracted out any of the following services and, if YES, what percentage of the services were contracted out?

(The following is a compilation of those answering YES)

A.) Transportation: 40 – 100%

2 – 98%
4 – 95%
4 – 90%
1 – 80%
1 – 50%

B.) Janitorial Services: 1 – 100%

1 – 50%
1 – 5%

C.) Building Maintenance: 1 – 100%

1 – 75%
1 – 50%
1 – 20% 1 – 15%
2 – 10%

D.) Food Services: 11 – 100%

1 – 90%

E.) Administrative Support: 1 – 90%

1 – 20%
2 – 10%
1 – 5%

 

©Copyright 1997 the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc.

Permission to utilize information contained within this survey is granted provided the Lincoln Institute of Public Opinion Research, Inc. is credited as the source.