2010 Public Opinion Survey on K-12 Education in Indiana Indiana State Board of Education February 8, 2010 Jonathan A. Plucker Terry E. Spradlin Rodney S. Whiteman 1

Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP) CEEP promotes and supports rigorous program evaluation and nonpartisan policy research primarily, but not exclusively, for education, human service and non-profit organizations. In the area of K-12 education policy, CEEP’s mission is to help inform, influence and shape sound policy through effective, nonpartisan research and analysis. For more information about CEEP, go to: 2

Need for a Survey CEEP has conducted the survey in seven of the last eight years ( , 2010), with no external funding, to provide a standardized, empirical approach to gauge and measure the public perception of Indiana schools and related issues – this is NOT an advocacy poll Policymakers and education leaders in Indiana have expressed support for the continuation of this survey Year 7 survey was conducted to identify changes in the attitudes and perceptions of Hoosiers since 2003 and gauge opinions on K-12 education policy issues that are now being discussed in the 2011 session of the Indiana General Assembly 3

Telephone Survey Conducted November 18 through December 4, residents of Indiana, all 18+ years old Random Digit Dialing (RDD) includes both listed and unlisted numbers Minimum and maximum quotas for county, age, and gender to ensure a representative sample of these variables –Gender balance reflected 46% male, 54% female –Race/ethnicity balance reflected: 80.5% white, 8.3% African American, and 5.2% Hispanic State and regional results are weighted proportionately to the Indiana population for race/ethnicity, gender, and age Phone surveys conducted by professional market research interviewers employed and managed by Stone Research Services 4

Survey Statistics Ratio of initial refusals to households successfully screened (1,252/915) was 1.4:1, which is lower than average for RDD samples and down from a 1.9:1 ratio in Wave 6. Overall sampling error of +/- 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. In addition, the sampling error declines when responses are heavily one sided. 5

Survey Development A more concise 10-item questionnaire was developed for the Year 7 Survey Questions developed from a review of: –regional and national polls –Education Next/Program on Education Policy and Governance Survey on Public Opinion and the Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Education Poll –Issues being discussed by Indiana policymakers –Anticipated “hot topics” in Indiana 6

Item Revision Survey questions have been reviewed by: Project staff Indiana policymakers and educational leaders representing a breadth of perspectives and ideologies Stone Research Services 7

Summary of Year 7 ResuIts 10-question survey examining: A.Overall Education Quality and Governance (Q.1-Q.3) B.School Funding (Q.4A-Q.5) C.Teacher Evaluation and Compensation (Q.6-Q.9) D.Virtual Education (Q.10) 8

(Q.1A) Indiana will soon rate schools using a letter grade rating system. How would you grade public schools in Indiana?  All respondents grading Indiana schools: A/B: 38.3% C: 37.1%D/F: 12.7% By race grading A/B: Whites: 39.7%Non-whites: 31.4% African Americans: 28.3% (28.6% D/F) By Income grading A/B: <35K: 38.2% 35K-50K: 25.8% 50K-75K: 32.6% 75K+: 47.7% By region grading A/B: Northern: 42.6% Central: 33.7% Southern: 41.3% 9

(Q.1B) How would you grade public schools in your community? 10  Respondents grading local schools: A/B: 59.1% C: 22.9% D/F: 13.4% Subgroups grading as A/B: Whites: 63.0%Non-whites: 39.3% <35K: 54.9% 35K-50K: 51.9% 50K-75K: 57.4% 75K+: 68.0% HS or less: 57.3% Some college: 51.7% College grad or more: 69.4% With children in school: 64.8% With children NOT in school: 53.9%

(Q.2A) Over the past five years, has the academic performance of public schools in Indiana gotten better, worse, or stayed about the same? All Respondents (2010): Better 20.2% Worse 25.9% Same 45.5% All Respondents (2008): Better 27.8% Worse 20.6% Same 41.8% Age Better 16.6% Worse 41.2% Same 33.9% Whites: Better 21.3% Worse 25.3% Same 45.3% Non-whites: Better 14.4% Worse 28.7% Same 49.2% African Americans: Better 10.9% Worse 35.0% Same 49.7% Male Better 16.0% Worse 23.1% Same 52.7% Female Better 23.9% Worse 28.4% Same 39.3% 11

(Q.2B) Over the past five years, has the academic performance of public schools in your community gotten better, worse, or stayed about the same? 12 All Respondents (2010): Better 24.7% Worse 21.5% Same 51.0% All Respondents (2008): Better 29.4% Worse 16.0% Same 46.6% Age Better 27.3% Worse 17.0% Same 52.9% Age Better 22.3% Worse 26.8% Same 45.7% Whites: Better 25.8% Worse 19.8% Same 51.9% Non-whites: Better 19.1% Worse 28.2% Same 48.4% HS or less Better 20.9% Worse 24.7% Same 45.4% Some college Better 17.0% Worse 31.4% Same 44.3% College grad or more Better 22.9% Worse 21.9% Same 46.6%

(Q.3) A school is placed on academic probation if they do not meet annual goals for student academic growth. Assume you have a child attending a public school that has been placed on academic probation by either the state or federal government. Which improvement strategy would you prefer? Every subgroup’s top preference was “Transform School” Preferences of ALL respondents: Transform school: 65.9% Turnaround school: 7.6% Offset tuition: 6.5% Restart school: 5.4% Close school: 2.1% None/no preference: 12.6% 13

(Q.4A) Overall, do you think the level of funding for public education in Indiana is more than enough, enough, or not enough to meet the learning needs of students? Responding “More than enough” or “enough”  All: 31.1%  “not enough” = 65.5% Male 39.9%Female 23.5% White 33.0%Non-white 20.9% Children in school 26.7% Children NOT in school 35.0% 14

(Q.4B) When including all expenses, school districts spend about $10,000 per year per student. Do you think this level of funding for public education in Indiana is more than enough, enough, or not enough to meet the learning needs of students? 15  All respondents “More than enough”/“enough”: 45.0% “Not enough”: 47.8% By gender “more than enough”/“enough” Male 52.0%Female 39.0% By race “more than enough”/“enough” White 46.7%Non-white 35.6% (African American “not enough”: 76.4%) School-age children “more than enough”/“enough”: In school 41.2% NOT in school 46.8% By region “more than enough”/“enough” and (“not enough”): Northern 42.8% (50.7%) Central 43.2% (49.2%) Southern 55.7% (37.0%)

(Q.5) It has been suggested that one way public schools could save money is by negotiating or joining less expensive health insurance plans. Which of these health insurance options would you prefer? All Respondents  Join unless less expensive negotiated 46.1%  Negotiate own 27.4%  Required to join 15.6% All subgroups except by race/ethnicity held same order of preference Join Negotiate Required White 46.6%28.2%14.0% Non-white 45.8% 22.5% 22.6% –Black 49.2% 15.6% 28.3% –Hispanic 41.8% 36.2% 11.6% –Other 43.7% 17.1% 26.2% 16

(Q.6) Typically, a teaching license can only be obtained through participation in a college or university-based teacher preparation program. Would you support or oppose allowing anyone who is a college graduate the option of obtaining a teaching license by participation in a teacher-preparation program through a state-approved non-profit organization instead of through a college or university? Responding “completely” or “somewhat” support  All 55.2% Male 62.0%Female 49.3% White 54.0% Non-white 63.3% By education: HS or less 50.4% Some college 54.3% College grad or more 61.7% 17

(Q.7) In your mind, what do you think should be the purpose for evaluating teachers: helping them improve their ability to teach, establishing their salaries based upon their skills, or documenting ineffectiveness that could lead to dismissal? Choose all that apply.  All respondents: Helping improve 88.9% Documenting ineffectiveness 74.3% Establishing salaries 59.1% All subgroups shared the same order of preference 18

(Q.8) Which of these factors should a teacher’s evaluation be based on? Choose all that apply.  All respondents: Student improvement 80.8% Principal’s observations 66.8% Improvement on tests 53.9% Student conduct 42.8% Nearly all subgroups shared the same order of preference, except: College grad –68.0%, 69.4%, 37.2%, 30.1% Hispanic –92.5%, 72.7%, 79.7%, 46.3% Other minority –86.1%, 49.0%, 62.6%, 55.4% All non-white –90.8%, 72.9%, 74.1%, 42.7% 19

(Q.9) Which of these factors should teacher compensation be based on? Choose all that apply.  All respondents top three: Student achievement 75.4% Teacher’s education 65.2% Principal’s observation 63.7% Subgroups’ preferences in order on chart (top three in bold) Male 77.4%, 56.3%, 61.4%, 61.2%, 63.6% Female 73.7%, 59.0%, 68.6%, 65.8%, 54.1% White 74.3%, 56.1%, 64.8%, 63.1%, 55.4% Non-white 78.8%, 65.3%, 68.9%, 65.8%, 73.1% All subgroups’ #1 preference was student achievement, except: College grads (Teacher’s education, 73.7%) 20

(Q.10) Classes offered over the Internet are often called “virtual learning.” Which of the following do you feel are appropriate uses of virtual learning in high schools? Choose all that apply.  All respondents (in order on chart): 88.3%, 84.6%, 71.3%, 58.0%, 53.9% Most subgroups held same order of preference, except: Male 88.1%, 83.0%, 64.1%, 53.0%, 54.2% Age %, 89.0%, 77.8%, 54.4%, 58.7% Age %, 86.0%, 71.1%, 64.7%, 51.0% Age %, 84.1%, 65.0%, 50.1%, 56.3% 21

Conclusions 22

Conclusions A. Overall Education Quality and Governance  Favorable ratings of schools down slightly with more Hoosiers viewing overall quality of schools across the state as average and showing no improvement  Yet, respondents still highly regard their own community schools  Though most say the quality of schools across the state has stayed the same, for the first time in the history of the survey more respondents say overall quality has “gotten worse” than those indicating schools have “gotten better”  Respondents want taxpayers dollars to remain in public education to improve schools and teacher/principal quality (via transformational model) 23

Conclusions (cont.) B. School Funding  Perhaps due to economic conditions (e.g., high unemployment rates) and state budget cuts (including to public schools), more Hoosiers believe that current level of funding for public education is not enough  Respondents want local flexibility for school districts to find lowest-cost option for health insurance plans, but if less expensive option not available then school systems should join state plan 24

Conclusions (cont.) C. Teacher Evaluation and Compensation  Hoosiers support broader options for teacher preparation programs and multiple measures/criteria for teacher evaluations and compensation 25

Conclusions (cont.) D. Virtual Education  Citizens are very supportive of the use of virtual education, especially for providing advanced courses, supporting at- risk students with remediation/credit recovery, and a pathway to a high school diploma for dropouts 26

CEEP Contact Information: Jonathan A. Plucker, Ph.D. Director Terry E. Spradlin, MPA Director of Education Policy Rodney Whiteman 1900 East Tenth Street Bloomington, Indiana Fax: