Hart, Weingarten, and Polling About Common Core
In March/April 2013, Hart Associates conducted a poll of American Federation of Teachers (AFT) members regarding opinions about the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). A finding publicized by AFT President Randi Weingarten is that “75% of AFT teachers polled support CCSS.” I took issue with both the finding itself and the manner in which the finding was reported. One of my criticisms regarded the small sample size: only 800 AFT members were polled.
Both Weingarten and Hart Research Associates responded to my post. Both insist that the sample was of adequate size and “representative of AFT members.”
Nevertheless, if Hart’s and AFT’s goal was to truly discern whether or not teachers support CCSS, their sampling misses the mark. I would like to detail my position in this post.
Opinion polling is a tricky business. Care needs to be taken in obtaining a representative sample. Gallup is an established name in opinion polls, and one of the standards used by Gallup is the stratified random sample. A
Both Weingarten and Hart Research Associates responded to my post. Both insist that the sample was of adequate size and “representative of AFT members.”
Nevertheless, if Hart’s and AFT’s goal was to truly discern whether or not teachers support CCSS, their sampling misses the mark. I would like to detail my position in this post.
Opinion polling is a tricky business. Care needs to be taken in obtaining a representative sample. Gallup is an established name in opinion polls, and one of the standards used by Gallup is the stratified random sample. A
