Which school do you want to support?
Most Californians, when asked, express concern about the public school system.
This sense of concern isn't limited to California. Gallup, the polling company, reports that public confidence in schools has fallen by half since its peak in 1975. Public education is not the only institution that has suffered a loss of confidence, but it is a strikingly consistent finding: Americans are broadly concerned that the education system isn't working very well.
Beneath this general concern about the quality of public education, however, lies a paradox: parents generally tend to say they think better of their own local schools.
"I know the system is broken, but…"
The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) periodically asks Californians to give their local school a letter grade. Year in, year out, even in the thick of the Pandemic, about half of public school parents give their school an A or B. There are important patterns beneath the averages, though. For example, African-American respondents are much less likely to give an A or B to this question.
"…I guess my school's fine, right?"
Confidence in local schools, while it remains high, is slipping over time. Parents have real reasons to question whether their schools will deliver their child a future of bright opportunities. For example, college has become our society's primary gateway to a secure economic future, but an awful lot of students don't emerge from their K-12 years college-ready, despite increasing parental confidence.
It's human nature to hear what you want to hear, and to look at what you want to see. Parents want to believe the best about their kids. It's also human nature (and good manners) to prefer to deliver bad news gently, with an emphasis on the positive. Teachers are no exception. Is it any wonder that parents might prefer to draw conclusions about how their kids are doing from report cards and parent-teacher conferences, rather than from their kids' scores on standardized tests?
Sources: NCES; Learning Heroes "Parents 2016: Hearts & Minds of Parents in an Uncertain World" (Click image for an updated report.)
Standardized tests aren't the only things that matter, but they deliver straightforward information about your child's learning progress without preamble or excuses. These scores deserve unflinching attention. They are the clearest, most honest way to tell if your student is on track, academically.
The tendency for wishful thinking (perhaps more accurately choice-supportive bias) does not seem to vary much with results. Communities whose schools have been chronically ineffective nevertheless give their schools passing grades, for example. Decades ago, California used to require all students to pass a test of basic skills to earn their high school diploma. Over half of the students who repeatedly failed the test still said in surveys that they expected to go to college. In the movie Waiting for Superman, Davis Guggenheim colorfully points out the huge gap between American students' confidence and their results.
This disconnect is human nature. Virtually everyone behind the wheel sees themself as an above-average driver. Teachers and parents rate themselves as above-average, too, and extend their beliefs about themselves to the students in their care, like a nation of Lake Wobegon kids. Unfortunately for kids, in this case, human nature doesn't serve them well.
The next lesson explores some good news: there are reasons to believe that California's school results are getting better.
Updated May 2018, May 2019, June 2019, September 2021, July 2022.
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Carol Kocivar June 13, 2022 at 6:43 pm
California confidence in public schools drops according to 2022 polling by UC Berkeley.
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1gz0n3nx
francisco molina August 12, 2019 at 11:26 pm
Mostly of their problems are hard to resolve inside the classroom, many of them come from families with low education and low salaries and the presence of the counselor make a big difference .
Brenda Etterbeek May 11, 2019 at 7:20 am
Jeff Camp May 20, 2019 at 4:34 pm
Brenda Etterbeek May 10, 2019 at 6:41 pm
Namrata Mundhra February 25, 2019 at 8:50 am
Caryn February 25, 2019 at 11:09 am
Jeff Camp - Founder August 2, 2017 at 8:45 am
Carol Kocivar July 19, 2017 at 3:24 pm
One takeaway: Perception changes depending on how success is measured.
"Current data systems, which consist primarily of standardized-test scores, misrepresent school quality. They say more about family income than they do about schools. And they say very little about the many things that good schools do."
Jeff Camp - Founder April 3, 2017 at 4:38 pm
wtgoddess May 31, 2015 at 5:48 am
wtgoddess April 7, 2015 at 5:57 am
jenzteam February 27, 2015 at 6:48 am
Jeff Camp - Founder February 27, 2015 at 4:12 pm
Jeff Camp - Founder January 10, 2015 at 10:29 am
His net advice: differences in expectations make "attitude" questionnaires a poor tool for comparing schools.
celia4pta September 25, 2014 at 9:06 pm
Twenty years ago my sister in another state was complaining about her daughter's "large" class of 19 when my child was in a class of 35. And it has not exactly gotten better since.
We are trying not to blame our local educators or add to the "Schools Suck Industry" that John Mockler likes to refer to.
It seems like we end up with a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. If schools are not doing well, then politicians and a certain segment of the population say, "Why throw money at a failing system." If schools are succeeding, why give more resources? The schools are seen as efficient. (See the Orange County Register for calculations on efficient use of school funds.)
Either way, the answer is the same: no additional resources.
Celia
Sherry Schnell January 22, 2015 at 9:25 am
anamendozasantiago February 5, 2015 at 5:27 pm
This gifted school receives around 400 application of qualified students but they only allow 60 students in. What a waste of wonderful, talented minds.
Jeff Camp - Founder February 5, 2015 at 6:21 pm
Brandi Galasso February 7, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Caprice Young March 7, 2011 at 12:41 am
In some neighborhoods, though, there aren't any good choices. In South Los Angeles, for example, a group of local parents and educators took stock of their local schools and didn't like what they saw. Fifty percent and higher dropout rates for African American students, illiteracy extending into high school, and unsafe school environments, drove them to create the Inner City Education Foundation public schools. ICEF is committed to educating all students to the highest levels, ensure that every one graduates, gets accepted to a top college and is competitive once there. With a 97 percent graduation rate, a 100 percent college going rate, with 90 percent of graduates attending four year colleges and with 90 percent still in school and on track-- ICEF parents are proud of the schools they created.
It may seem extreme to start your own public schools, but if your current choices can't get the job done, parents and educators now have the ability to take matters into their own hands. Getting educated about education as a parent or student is the best way to start holding our schools accountable for ensuring that our kids can compete successfully in the global economy.