2 Polls Span 2 Poles On Testing : NPR Ed : NPR

2 Polls Span 2 Poles On Testing : NPR Ed : NPR:

2 Polls Span 2 Poles On Testing

Please read the following two sentences carefully. Choose which is correct, A or B.

A. According to a brand-new national poll, two-thirds of the American public supports annual federal testing, and 59 percent oppose letting students opt out of tests, while only 1 in 4 support opting out.

B. According to a brand-new national poll, two-thirds of the American public thinks there is too much testing in schools. As for opt-outs, they are split, with 44 percent opposing it and 41 percent supporting it.

The answer: C. Both A (poll released Aug. 17 by EdNext) and B (poll released Aug. 24 by Gallup/PDK). The two polls suggest public opinion on this issue isn't clearly staked out.

i

iStockphoto

Standardized testing is a cornerstone of federal education policy in the U.S. States must test every student every yearin math and reading from grades 3-8, and once in high school, and report the results.

These tests — and the many other tests that states and districts add on top of them — have drawn controversy. The pushback has been led by New York state, where 1 in 5 students "opted out" from taking the state tests this past spring. This act of collective civil disobedience may invalidate that state's compliance with federal accountability requirements.

At the same time, the federal law that requires annual testing is up for renewal, and some have proposed amendments that would affirm the right of parents to opt out. So this is the right moment for a national debate.

To understand what's behind a poll, you have to look closely at three questions: Who is asking the question? Whom are they asking? What are they asking?

Both of these polls are large, representative national samples. And their results on other questions, like whether you approve of your local school, are nearly identical. Therefore, it's likely that the mystery can be solved by looking closely at the phrasing of these specific questions on testing.

The poll that found Americans in favor of testing and against opting out was conducted by the education-policy journal Education Next. EdNext has three sponsors: the Fordham Institute, the Hoover Institution at Stanford and Harvard's Kennedy School. Both Fordham and Hoover have been associated with policies such as charter schools, the Common Core State Standards and test-based accountability.

EdNext put the testing question this way:

Do you support or oppose the federal government continuing to require that all students be tested in math and reading each year in grades 3-8 and once in high school?

In the responses, 35 percent the general public said they "completely" supported annual tests and another 32 percent said they "somewhat" supported them, for a total 2 Polls Span 2 Poles On Testing : NPR Ed : NPR: