Americans overwhelmingly support high-stakes testing

8/20/14 12:01 AM EDT

Americans overwhelmingly support high-stakes testing to determine whether students should advance to the next grade or graduate from high school, according to the annual PDK/Gallup Poll.
The poll, released this morning, found that more than two-thirds of public school parents don’t believe standardized tests help teachers assess their students’ academic performance. Yet both parents and the public at large expressed very strong support for using tests for certain high-stakes decisions.
The 46th annual PDK/Gallup poll also documented a shift in concerns about public schools. A decade ago, nearly a quarter of Americans thought that discipline issues — drug use, gangs, fighting and the like — were among the biggest problems facing schools in their community. Today, just 9 percent name discipline as a major concern. But 32 percent believe lack of financial support is a big problem for schools. That’s up from 21 percent who cited finances as a top issue in 2004.
Another notable finding: Support for President Barack Obama’s education policies is sinking. Just 5 percent of respondents gave him an A for his “performance in support of public schools,” down from 11 percent in 2011. And 27 percent flunked him outright — up from 15 percent three years ago.

Public school parents are also less enthusiastic about their local schools. Asked to rate the school their oldest child attends, 67 percent graded it A or B, which sounds good — but it’s a drop from prior years, when anywhere from 71 percent to 77 percent of parents gave their schools a top grade. In the past, barely any respondents gave their local school an F; this year, 5 percent did.