Last week, three national polls from AP-NORC, PDK/Gallup and EdNext measuring Americans’ attitudes on education were released. The Associated Press-NORC poll did not ask specific questions about public charter schools, but for the other two polls that did charter school breakouts, the results were overwhelmingly positive. All three polls canvassed a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 adults.
The big picture charter findings from the 45th annual PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools include:
Nearly 70 percent of Americans favor charter schools (This is up from less than 40 percent 11 years ago)
Two of three Americans support new public charter schools in their communities.
A majority of Americans said that public charter schools provide a better education than other public schools.
The table below shows the national responses to the 2013 poll questions about public charter schools.
National total responses to public charter school-related poll questions, 2013 PDK Gallup
As you may know, charter schools operate under a charter or contract that frees them from many of the state regulations imposed on public schools and permits them to operate independently. Do you favor or oppose the idea of charter schools?
Favor 68%
Oppose 29%
Don’t know/refused 3%
Would you support new public charter schools in your community?
Yes 67%
No 32%
Don’t know/refused 1%
Generally speaking, would you support a large increase in the number of public charter schools operating in the United States?
Yes 59%
No 39%
Don’t know/refused 1%
Do you believe students receive a better education at a public charter school than at other public schools?
Public charter schools 52%
Other public schools 31%
No difference 9%
Don’t know/refused 8%
The seventh annual Education Next (EdNext) poll asks a variety of questions to test the level of support and understand about public charter schools among the public, teachers, parents, African Americans, and Hispanics. The poll hit several charter “myths,” including questions about whether charters can charge tuition, hold religious services, and hold a lottery if there is more demand for enrollment than available; unfortunately, 50 percent or more of the public respondents indicated “don’t know” to these questions—so the charter sector has some work to do to clarify those misconceptions. The table below shows responses to the EdNext question about the degree of support for public charter schools.
Responses to 2013 EdNext Poll
As you may know, many states permit the formation of charter schools, which are publicly funded but are not managed by the local school board. These schools are expected to meet promised objectives, but are exempt from many state regulations. Do you support or oppose the formation of charter schools?
Public
Teachers
Parents
African Americans
Hispanics
Completely Support
18%
20%
17%
19%
21%
Somewhat Support
33%
21%
32%
34%
33%
Somewhat Oppose
18%
23%
19%
16%
18%
Completely Oppose
8%
25%
7%
9%
4%
Neither Support nor Oppose
24%
12%
26%
23%
24%
The polls are great tools to gauge public perceptions about education reform issues, and their positive findings about public charter schools are no surprise to us. With nearly one million student names on waitlists to attend public charter schools across the nation, the polls’ findings echo the hopes of so many families demanding quality educational options. Nora Kern is senior manager for research & analysis at the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. Learn more: Eduwonk blog: “Triple Crown Of Education Opinion Research”
