Should we improve schools or start from scratch?
According to Phi Delta Kappa International’s 50th annual PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward The Public School, released this week, nearly eight in 10 Americans prefer the former — to work with the education system they already have rather than toss it overboard for something completely new and different. According to PDK, that’s more than in any year since the question was first asked two decades ago.
On Twitter, several teachers union representatives greeted the news as decisively refuting school choice. They tweeted the identical message, a condensed version of an official statement from American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten: This is a poll that every policymaker must see. The defunding strategy of right-wing politicians and billionaires is completely dissonant from the attitudes of our communities. Americans want to strengthen schools.
However, rather than posterizing their opponents, this is the equivalent of Michael Jordan slam-dunking on an empty court.
The PDK poll questions, which addressed education on both the national and local levels, present a false dichotomy. “Which approach do you think is preferable in order to improve public education in America [in your own community] — reforming the existing public school system or finding an alternative to the existing public school system?” seemingly asks the public to choose between two extremes, despite the fact that a range of other possibilities exists.
That’s certainly how PDK framed it, summarizing the question as “Should we improve schools or start from scratch?” and reporting that Americans would “rather reform than replace the local school system.” Teachers union representatives were eager to make similar sweeping conclusions.
It’s not surprising that 78 percent of those polled eschewed the scenario that sounds like it involves massive disruption and uncertainty.
As with any poll, responses can differ widely depending on how a question is asked.
Indeed, when the public is presented various options instead of being forced to choose between stark contrasts, surveys show majorities or pluralities express support for education choice.
For example, the latest results of the annual Education Next poll, conducted by the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, found that:
- 54 percent of the general public favors universal vouchers.
- 43 percent supports vouchers targeted at low-income students.
- 44 percent backs charter schools.
- 57 percent endorses tax credits to fund scholarships to help low-income parents send their children to private schools.
However, the best measure of support for these programs is people voting with their feet.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between 2000 and 2015, public charter school enrollment increased from 400,000 to 2.8 million; meanwhile, the percentage of public school students who attended charter schools increased from 1 percent to 6 percent.
The number of students participating in the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, the nation’s largest private school choice program (and which is administered by non-profits such as Step Up For Students, which hosts this blog), has grown from 10,549 in 2003 to 107,095 in 2018. Since 2012, enrollment in private school choice programs nationwide has more than doubled, and they now serve approximately 500,000 students.
Clearly, more and more parents are seeking alternatives to their children’s education that traditional schools cannot provide. That doesn’t detract from the many parents who are satisfied with their public school experience. But what works for some may not work for others. Thus, a large, pluralistic society must have a diversity of ways to deliver educational services, and not all can exist within the conventional structure.
Education choice need not be an either/or proposition. Empowering parents doesn’t require sacrificing what’s working in traditional public schools. Charter schools, vouchers, tax credit scholarships and other programs don’t replace the current system,; they complement it by expanding opportunities for families who find their education needs aren’t being met. All parents need the freedom to choose what’s best for them, and have the means to exercise that choice.
