Gauging Attitudes on Tennessee Schools - Tennesseans are Cautiously Optimistics about K-12 Public Education

Gauging Attitudes on Tennessee Schools: Tennesseans are Cautiously Optimistic about K-12 Public Education In cooperation with the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), Widmeyer Communications conducted a telephone survey of 600 likely voters in Tennessee to explore attitudes towards kindergarten through 12th grade public education in the state. The poll sought to assess people’s general understanding of the depth and promise of education reforms today in the state and their opinions on where the state is headed. The survey was conducted from July 7-13, 2010. The overall margin of error is +/- 4.0%. SCORE is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization chaired by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, whose mission is to work with state and local governments to encourage sound policy decisions in public education, and to advance innovative reform on a statewide basis. SCORE’s core strengths are providing information on state-level education reform and technical support for state and local governments. SCORE engages in advocacy, including building coalitions among public- and private-sector partners. In addition, SCORE is playing a key role in helping implement and monitor the state’s Race to the Top program. Key Findings:    Tennessee (TN) voters are cautiously optimistic about education reform in the state, which they see as a primary concern for the state government. They recognize victories such as winning federal Race the Top funds and raising TN state education standards, but they are not sure where the state is going from there. They understand this may be a time of change, but they are not fully aware of what is included in TN’s plan to get them there. TN voters understand the connections between the economy and education. They know that a strong education is one of the pathways for TN to improve its economy and increase opportunities for its citizens. TN voters support increased rigor for TN students, despite the cost or a temporary dip in achievement levels while schools and students adjust to higher standards. But they are mixed in their views about — or may not be aware of — other key education reforms, such as charter schools, new teacher evaluations and takeovers of low-performing schools. Awareness building efforts about these more nuanced reforms, as well as the coalitions that exist to carry them out, are necessary to engage voters more fully in education reform issues.