“Hear, hear!” To All Education Policy Advocates for Great Public
Schools in Texas
Don't buy the neoliberal hype that parents are opposed to public education and should therefore support either school vouchers or opt for market-based solutions to so-called "failing schools" from right-wing privatizers touting the so-called "virtues" of education management organizations [EMOs]—meaning corporations running far too many of our schools and in the process, robbing taxpayers of precious, hard-earned, dollars that funnel to corporate heads to line their pockets and rob our children of the education they need and deserve.
Instead, I encourage you to take some time to educate yourself on what Texans themselves are saying about public education. These survey results provide a current and timely sense of not only strong, but growing, support for public education in the state of Texas that the pandemic itself appears to have, in part, motivated as indicated herein:
"Nearly all Texans want their public schools to provide extracurricular opportunities, and roughly nine in 10 support programming such as universal pre-kindergarten and on-site mental health services. Signaling that some pandemic practices may be here to stay, broad majorities support remote parent-teacher meetings and remote instruction when desired for any student in the long term."
This timely report provides plenty of ammunition to, among other things, challenge vouchers and high-stakes testing while supporting universal pre-K and mental health services in anticipation of the 2023 Texas legislative session.
Urge everyone you know to read this downloadable report [pdf].
Congratulations to the Charles Butt Foundation and research director Jennifer Jendrzey, Lauren Cook, and UT Education Policy and Planning master's student, Victoria Wang, as well as to Langer Research Associates Steven Sparks, research analyst Allison De Jong, and project director Gary Langer for their incredible work on a truly well-conceived survey study and report.
-Angela Valenzuela
#SupportPublicEducation #SupportPublicSchools #TxEd #MeasureWhatMatters @RYHTexas @TAMSATX
"Connected Through Our Schools"
The 2022 Poll on Texans' Attitudes Toward Public Education
Letter from the
Charles Butt Foundation
Anyone connected to a public school is well aware of the difficulties our schools and educators faced over the past two years as they navigated uncertainty after uncertainty. As we approached this year’s survey, we considered deeply what information is most helpful to educators and those who work to support Texas public schools. We chose to explore how Texans view their schools, the long-term implications of adapting to pandemic schooling, and what Texas families value about their connections with public schools and educators. What we found gives us great hope: Texas parents’ ratings of public schools and teachers are the highest in the history of our poll.
We are pleased to release our third annual report on Texans’ attitudes toward public education, presented by the Charles Butt Foundation, previously published by the Raise Your Hand Texas® Foundation. We value random-sample statewide polling because it reveals Texans’ perceptions of public education from all geographic areas, ideologies, and demographics of this great state. At a time when the loudest voices and the headlines don’t often reflect the experience of everyday Texans, this data is more important now than ever.
With each survey, we ask Texans to self-identify and share their demographics, including their race and ethnicity. When we identify racial and ethnic data in our report, we categorize Texans in the following ways: Black Texans, Hispanic Texans, White Texans, and Texans of color, who include Texans who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, multiracial, and another racial background or origin. We recognize these are imperfect categorizations and are working to find more inclusive methods of amplifying diverse Texas voices.
Our hope is the Charles Butt Foundation poll report continues to be a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and our countless partners working to make public education excellent and equitable for all Texas students. As we look forward and apply these data to catalyze further learning, facilitate authentic conversations, and spark bold ideas, we will keep Texas students and families at the center of our work, as they will drive the future success of our communities and state.
About the Poll
The third annual Charles Butt Foundation poll – previously known as the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation poll – was produced for the foundation by Langer Research Associates. Data collection was conducted Sept. 24-Oct. 4, 2021, in English and Spanish, among a random statewide sample of 1,154 Texas adults via the Ipsos KnowledgePanel®, a probability-based online survey panel. Results have a margin of error of four points for the full sample; error margins are larger for subgroups. All differences described in this report have been tested for statistical significance.1
Detailed results follow in nine sections: The role of public schools, pursuing school quality, belonging and inclusion, rating the schools, attitudes toward teachers, testing and accountability, equity barriers and school funding. A digital download and additional resources are available at CharlesButtFdn.org/2022TXEdPoll.
The 2022 Charles Butt Foundation poll was directed by Jennifer Jendrzey, vice president of learning and impact; Lauren Cook, senior strategist; and Victoria Wang, research associate. The report and user interface were designed by Joel Goudeau, art director; and Marcela Giraldo, senior designer; with visualization support by Kurt Lockhart, data insights manager; and web development support by Karen Wang. The lead author of this report is Steven Sparks, research analyst at Langer Research Associates; with Allison De Jong, research analyst; Sofi Sinozich, research analyst; and Gary Langer, project director.
Key findings
Texas public school parents’ ratings of their community’s public schools have surged since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, signaling broad appreciation of schools’ – and teachers’ – efforts to respond amid closures and controversy.
The share of public school parents giving their local public schools an A or B grade is up 12 percentage points in two years to 68 percent in the latest statewide survey on public education by the Charles Butt Foundation. In contrast with the increase among parents, there’s a decline in school ratings among those without a child currently enrolled in K-12 schools.2 Forty-eight percent of non-parents now give their local public schools As and Bs, versus 56 percent a year ago. That makes for a 20-point gap between parents and non-parents in their ratings of the state’s public schools.
About three-quarters of public school parents also report that their child has a very or somewhat strong sense of belonging at school. And if other options were available, eight in 10 would choose to keep their child in their current school rather than send them to a different one.
On teachers, public school parents also are now more likely than Texans overall to give A or B grades to the public school teachers in their community; 76 percent do so. And they’re slightly more apt than all Texans to say they’d like a child of theirs to have a career as a public school teacher. These are shifts from the past two years, when views among parents and non-parents were similar.
Other results find substantial confidence in teachers. More Texans trust teachers to make decisions in the best interest of public school students than trust principals, local school boards, district administrators, or state elected officials. Seventy-six percent of Texans trust teachers to assess and monitor students’ academic progress; 67 percent, to develop and choose curriculum; and 65 percent, to support students’ self-management, interpersonal skills and decision-making skills.
Alongside these results, most Texans recognize an array of obstacles facing teachers today, ranging from a high level of work-related stress to too many administrative burdens. Notably, nine in 10 Texans see pressure to have their students do well on standardized tests as a challenge for teachers. Eighty-four percent say the same about work-related COVID-19 health concerns.
In ongoing concerns, the share of Texans who thinks public school teachers are undervalued in society today remains high, as does the share who thinks their salaries are too low. More than half also think the public schools in their community have too little funding.
Other results underscore Texans’ broad preference for public schools that serve diverse needs of students and their communities alike. In terms of what students should learn beyond the basics, large majorities think students should receive all surveyed items from public schools, ranging from critical thinking and problem-solving skills to exposure to different cultures and communities.
Nearly all Texans want their public schools to provide extracurricular opportunities, and roughly nine in 10 support programming such as universal pre-kindergarten and on-site mental health services. Signaling that some pandemic practices may be here to stay, broad majorities support remote parent-teacher meetings and remote instruction when desired for any student in the long term.
When it comes to standardized testing, more than half of Texans lack confidence that the state’s STAAR exams effectively measure how well a student is learning. Among negative perceptions, 70 percent think the tests require students to focus on test answers rather than deeper thinking, and 64 percent think they force teachers to “teach to the test.”
Separately, more parents say the pandemic had a positive rather than a negative impact in three areas – their child’s technology skills, their own communication with teachers, and their knowledge of their child’s educational progress. Parents are roughly divided between seeing positive or negative impacts in other areas, ranging from their child’s emotional health and well-being to engagement in coursework.
On equity gaps, fewer Texans perceive various barriers to learning for low-income students, or on the basis of students’ race or ethnicity, than did so a year ago, with declines somewhat more concentrated among Republicans and White residents of the state.
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