Berkeley IGS Poll University of California 091517 Final EdSource Questions Topline Findings 1. N= 1,200 CA registered voters (including parent oversample) Are you the parent or legal guardian of an elementary or secondary school-age child in California? (CHECK AS MANY AS APPLY)* 19% Yes, parent/legal guardian of elementary school-age child 13% Yes, parent or legal guardian of secondary school-age child (includes middle school) 72% No, not a parent/legal guardian of school-age child IF YES, ASK: 2a. What type of school does your child/do your children attend? (CHECK AS MANY AS APPLY)* 23% Public school 6% Private or religious school 1% Home schooled IF PUBLIC SCHOOL, ASK: 2b. Is the public school that your child attends a charter school? These are public schools that are allowed to operate more independently and without many of the state and federal regulations placed on other public schools. 5% Charter school 15% Not a charter school 3% Don’t know The next few questions ask for your opinions about a number of issues now facing the public schools in California. 3. How important do you feel it is for the public schools to put greater emphasis and offer more courses to students relating to computer programming and coding? 45% 40% 7% 8% Very important Somewhat important Not important No opinion * Percentages add to more than 100% (or subtotal asked the question) due to multiple mentions. 1 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Do you favor or oppose a proposal to make computer programming and coding part of the entire public school curriculum, beginning in the elementary school grades? 35% 37% 11% 5% 12% Favor strongly Favor somewhat Oppose somewhat Oppose strongly No opinion Have you seen, read or heard about the Next Generation Science Standards that were recently approved for the state’s public schools? 18% Yes, have heard 82% No, have not heard In 2013, California adopted the Next Generation Science Standards to give students a better understanding of how scientific concepts fit together and are applied in today’s world. Do you favor or oppose the Next Generation Science Standards? 32% 36% 5% 2% 25% Favor strongly Favor somewhat Oppose somewhat Oppose strongly No opinion How important do you feel it is for the public schools to put greater emphasis on integrating science as part of the entire public school curriculum? 50% 37% 5% 8% Very important Somewhat important Not important No opinion How would you rate the job the public schools in your community are doing in preparing students who may not end up going to college to enter the workforce after they graduate from high school? 7% 21% 26% 15% 13% 18% Excellent Good Fair Poor Very poor No opinion 2 9. 10. 11. How important do you feel it is for the public schools be put greater emphasis on preparing high school students who may not end up going to college to be successful in the workforce? 69% 24% 3% 4% Very important Somewhat important Not important No opinion How important do you feel it is for community colleges and other institutions to offer more vocationally-oriented apprenticeship programs and coursework that may not lead to a college degree, but prepare students for specific jobs? 70% 23% 2% 5% Very important Somewhat important Not important No opinion In recent years California has been relying less on standardized test scores as the main way to evaluate the performance of the public schools, and putting more emphasis on things like school attendance, suspension and graduation rates, how well schools are preparing students for college and the workforce, among other things. Do you agree or disagree with this approach? 22% 35% 16% 13% 14% 12. Agree strongly Agree somewhat Disagree somewhat Agree strongly No opinion How much importance should California be giving to each of the following when evaluating the performance of its public schools? (RANDOMIZE DISPLAY ORDER CATEGORIES) 13. Which of these do you think is most important? a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. High Moderate Lower No Most importance importance importance Opinion important Higher graduation rates ............................ Lower suspension rates ............................. Higher attendance rates ........................... Preparing students for college .................. Preparing students to enter the workforce directly after high school ....... Creating a safe and positive school environment .............................................. Encouraging greater parental involvement in their child’s school ........... Higher student scores on standardized tests ............................................................ No opinion ............. 3 65% 27% 4% 4% 10% 29% 37% 25% 9% 1% 53% 35% 8% 4% 3% 61% 31% 6% 2% 17% 62% 27% 7% 4% 23% 74% 18% 5% 3% 23% 58% 30% 7% 5% 13% 33% 38% 24% 5% 5% 5% 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. As a result of recent reforms, school districts in California have been given more decision-making powers over how they can spend state funds. Some are now calling for the districts to provide more details and issue more reports about how they are spending these funds, especially with regard to funding intended to improve the academic performance of low-income students and English learners. Do you agree or disagree with requiring these additional reporting requirements? 41% 34% 7% 3% 15% Agree strongly Agree somewhat Disagree somewhat Disagree strongly No opinion How serious of a problem do you think the shortage of public school teachers is in California? 38% 38% 12% 12% Very serious Somewhat serious Not serious No opinion How serious of a problem do you feel bullying, school fights and other forms of intimidation or violence are to the kids attending public schools in your community? 38% 39% 15% 8% Very serious Somewhat serious Not serious No opinion How serious of a problem do you feel harassment through on-line social media is to the kids attending public schools in your community? 36% 38% 12% 14% Very serious Somewhat serious Not serious No opinion How concerned are you that the federal government’s stricter immigration enforcement policies are causing fear and anxiety among children attending public schools in your community who may be threatened with deportation, or who have family members who are threatened with deportation? 36% 24% 12% 20% 8% Very concerned Somewhat concerned Not too concerned Not at all concerned No opinion 4 19. Do you favor or oppose the public schools in your community devoting more resources to supporting children whose family members are threatened with deportation? This could include providing counseling, trauma and mental health referrals, assistance in getting health care, translation or legal services. 32% Favor strongly 23% Favor somewhat 10% Oppose somewhat 22% Oppose strongly 13% No opinion 20. How important is it for the public schools to devote more funds to support the particular needs of the following types of students: (RANDOMIZE DISPLAY ORDER OF CATEGORIES) a. b. c. d. e. 21. a. b. c. 23. Somewhat important Not No important Opinion 35% 27% 30% 8% 64% 27% 5% 4% 62% 30% 5% 3% 49% 35% 13% 3% 50% 36% 10% 4% How much choice do you feel the following types of families have when deciding where to send their kids to school? 22. gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students homeless students .................................... special education students ....................... English language learners ......................... foster children ........................................... Very important A lot of choices Some choices Not much choice Upper income families .............................. 11% 81% Middle income families ............................. 72% 13% Low income families .................................. 16% 10% No opinion 4% 4% 11% 4% 69% 5% Do you favor or oppose offering low-income parents government subsidies such as tax credits or vouchers that they could use to pay for tuition to send their kids to a private or religious school, if they don’t like the public school choices available to their kids? 24% 31% 15% 19% 11% Favor strongly Favor somewhat Oppose somewhat Oppose strongly No opinion Do you favor or oppose offering all parents, regardless of income, government subsidies such as tax credits or vouchers that they could use to pay for tuition to send their kids to a private or religious school, if they don’t like the public school choices available to their kids? 21% 26% 17% 26% 10% Favor strongly Favor somewhat Oppose somewhat Oppose strongly No opinion 5 24. 25. How important is it for California to offer more tuition assistance, loans, and other forms of financial aid to qualified students from low-income families to attend the state’s public universities and colleges? 48% 31% 14% 7% Very important Somewhat important Not important No opinion How important is it for California to offer more tuition assistance, loans, and other forms of financial aid to qualified students from middle-income families to attend the state’s public universities and colleges? 40% 40% 12% 8% Very important Somewhat important Not important No opinion 6