A new research released by Public Agenda concludes that key elements of the public believe high standards and testing are necessary but not enough by themselves to lead to further progress.

In "Reality Check 2006: Is Support for Standards and Testing Fading?" (the third report issued this year in the Reality Check 2006 series), Public Agenda found that, five years into the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act and over a dozen years into the so-called standards movement in American education, the public now sees these reforms as "necessary, but not sufficient." This is consistent across a number of indicators among all groups surveyed by Public Agenda --- parents, students, teachers and administrators.

"Reality Check 2006" shows that relatively few parents, teachers, principals or superintendents see more of the same as the best course for the future. In this year's survey, respondents were asked to choose among four hypothetical candidates for the local school board --- one running on a platform of standards and testing, a second backing vouchers, a third backing charter schools, and a fourth calling for more money for schools and smaller classes. Among parents, the standards and testing candidate comes in a distant second to a candidate backing smaller classes and more funding. Fewer than one in four parents picked the standards candidate out of the four options. Among the educators, support for a school board candidate focusing primarily on standards and testing is in the single digits.

The report is available at: http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/realitycheck06/realitycheck06_main.htm

Published Tuesday, Jul. 11, 2006