The Education Gadfly Weekly

William J. Bushaw and John A. McNee
Phi Delta Kappan
September 2009

This hefty annual offering, which features some repeat questions and others dusted-off less frequently, is worth a yearly revisit. There's so much data in this big guy that we'd be hard pressed to even scratch the surface but we'll give it our best shot. So what do we think about public education in 2009? First, public schools aren't great and are getting worse. While most of us (51 percent) rate our local schools highly, far fewer (19 percent) are pleased with public schools nationally. Fifty percent say children today get a worse education than they received themselves. Second, we don't like the brand called No Child Left Behind but we support its major mandates. Just 28 percent look favorably on NCLB and only 24 percent believe the law is helping our local schools. Yet, two-thirds of us support requiring annual tests in grades three through eight, and this support has remained steady since 2002. And just one-third support letting each state use its own tests; instead, we continue to favor using a single standardized test nationwide, just as we did in 2002. (This should be welcome news to the Common Core State Standards initiative.) Third, we're not convinced early childhood education is worth the investment. Fifty-nine percent of us (including 53 percent of public school parents) believe that starting formal education one year earlier than usual would have a negative or no effect on children's future academic achievement (this is down just two points from 1997). Further, fewer of us are willing to pay more in taxes to fund preschool for disadvantaged children (42 percent said no in 2009, up from 36 percent in 1993). Fourth, we're pro-merit-pay and want to use student achievement to inform it. Seventy-two percent of us support merit pay for teachers, and 73 percent believe it should be fed by student performance measured by standardized tests. Fifth, charter support is growing. Two-thirds now support the idea of charter schools, up 15 percent from five years ago. And sixth, we're not as informed as we think we are. Nearly three-quarters of us claim to be "well-informed" or "fairly well-informed" about public schools. At the same time, more than half of us do not think charter schools are public schools, 46 percent believe they can teach religion, 57 percent say they can charge tuition, and a whopping 71 percent believe charters can select students based on ability--up from 58 percent just three years ago. Read the report here.

William Howell, Martin West, and Paul Peterson
Education Next
Fall 2009

Public opinion remains largely stable over time, as demonstrated by the latest Kappan poll results. This is in large part due to the fickleness of public discourse, explain the authors of this brief, in which constantly shifting support for or against an idea tends to cancel itself out in the aggregate. But are there factors that can shape public discussion? This 10-pager combines a couple of surveys, the most interesting and recent (March 2009) of which looks at the effect of new information--specifically the support of President Obama or research evidence--on public opinion. The authors asked three groups of respondents about three common education policy topics: merit pay, charter schools, and school vouchers. The first group they asked without any qualifying information; the second group was informed if Obama supported (merit pay and charter schools) or opposed the idea (school vouchers); and the third group was presented with research that supported (merit pay and charter schools) or refuted the policy (school vouchers). Then each group of respondents was broken down by political affiliation and race. In all three cases, presidential opinion and research evidence influenced respondents' support or lack thereof. When told that Obama supported merit pay, for example, respondents liked the idea 13 percentage points more than those who were not told of Obama's support; supportive research evidence hiked respondent patronage by six percentage points. African-Americans were even more likely to support merit pay after told Obama supported the concept; their support jumped from 12 to 31 percent. And, in general, across all three topics, Democrats tended to respond more markedly to presidential opinion and to research evidence than Republicans. A second part of the brief concerns an older survey that looked at public knowledge on education; echoing the Kappan results, this survey found that Americans know much less than they think they do. The lesson to be learned, it seems, is that public opinion can be influenced by political actors and research evidence--and this can be helpful if used well, or dangerous if used poorly. Read it here.

As the school year starts, many an urban district has been disappointed by slack first-day enrollments. In Washington DC, for example, enrollment in DCPS has dropped from 49,422 in 2007-08 to 45,190 in 2008-09 and to just 37,000 on the first day of the class for 2009-10; that's twelve thousand students lost in only two years. Detroit, too, has seen a mass exodus from its public schools. State-appointed financial manager Robert Bobb budgeted for 83,777 students for 2009-10, 11,000 fewer than in 2008-09 (94,054) and a whopping 25,000 fewer than 2007-08 (108,145).

These urban centers suffer from two primary maladies. First, shifting economic conditions, particularly the loss of jobs in the inner city, have parents moving out to more affordable suburbs, where their buck goes further, life is simpler (and safer), and the schools are typically better. Second, a widening variety of non-district options are available to students, which means that an increasing number of students no longer "belong" to the school system.

Three responses are popular:

1. Kill the competition. Typical tactics include lobbying for state charter caps, directing negative PR campaigns, and starting charter-alternatives, like Boston's "pilot schools." Districts also try to discourage virtual schooling and homeschooling, fight voucher programs, and oppose inter-district choice. Though this is a popular option, at most it slows the pace of school choice; it doesn't reverse it or produce better alternatives for kids.

2. Improve the product. It's exactly what it sounds, and yet woefully uncommon. Broad in scope, it includes everything from organizational and policy changes to ones that directly affect teaching and learning. The heavy lifting here, however, makes it a tough sell. Few districts have made many strides in this area, preferring incremental changes that have limited impact; the ones that have taken it seriously deserve kudos for their efforts.

3. Advertise like crazy. Hire marketers. Use TV, radio, newspapers, Twitter, Facebook, and billboards to promote schools' strengths and downplay their weaknesses. Place "come hither" messages on the sides of city buses. Send district officials and school administrators to community fairs, to poster neighborhoods, or go door-to-door to talk to parents. This is a relatively new phenomenon for the traditional districts, though charter and private schools use it regularly. It doesn't much disrupt the system and it's relatively easy and inexpensive to do (at least compared to options 1 and 2).

Marketing became particularly popular as the back-to-school season started this year. School officials in Denver have been pounding pavement to give the recruitment process a personal touch. DC Public Schools opted for radio spots and bus ads. Detroit has started a $500,000 "I'm In" campaign, backed by the likes of Bill Cosby and Derrick Coleman.

It's slightly surprising that it's taken this long for many school districts to market themselves. Their competition has been advertising for years, recognizing that a functioning market requires functional marketing. It's also the Mama Bear option of the three--neither steaming (kill the competition) nor frozen (actually change your product). That's not to mention that it allows districts--and cities--to tackle two problems at once: luring back students and jobs.

It's good that district schools now understand that they're not a monopoly. Students do have other places to go; in fact, over 50 percent of students are employing some kind of school choice.

But school advertising can take both good and bad forms. On the one hand, schools can use this opportunity to describe the product they're trying to sell, warts and all. They can run truthful ads that accurately represent the condition of education. On the other hand, they can play on consumer hopes and fears, touting the nice-looking but unimportant bits--like spiffy facilities--and downplaying less welcome realities, like dismal test scores.

Madison Avenue has had plenty of practice with the latter approach. Using supermodels and celebrities, for example, to sell a product is one way to make a mundane, or even subpar, product more sexy. It's not that Entenmann's is exactly lying in its doughnut and pastry ads, but they downplay the negatives of a product (the fat and sugar content, for example) by diverting the consumer's attention to something else--like who's eating it and how yummy it is.

School districts sometimes do this, too. DC's summer bus ads, for example, showed groups of cheery children accompanied by quotes about how happy they were that they had stayed in the public school system. DCPS spokeswoman Jennifer Calloway explained to the Wall Street Journal, "We wanted to show the city that there are smiling, happy kids in D.C. public schools." There are no ads, of course, depicting school violence, abysmal test scores, or depressing graduation rates. Why mention the 600 calories in that delectable doughnut?

Denver has taken a different tack. When tempers flared over a Denver charter school flier that compared its higher graduation rates to those of surrounding district schools, the superintendent called in education consultant Amy Slothower to compose a code of conduct for ethical marketing. When it comes to the facts, Slothower explains, "So long as it's truthful, they can use it."

This makes sense for charters and districts alike, but it may not be enough. Advertising something as important as education requires a level of honesty, accuracy, and probity that surpasses that of doughnuts. A "truth-in-marketing" code for schools should focus on telling the truth and also minimizing deceptive spin and encouraging schools to spotlight numbers that matter--things like student achievement and graduation rates, not new football uniforms and building renovations. After all, this isn't just about your pants being a bit tighter after one too many pastries; this is about the education of a generation of children.

While many school districts have experienced temporary state takeover--Philadelphia, Chicago, and Cleveland come to mind--New Orleans may be the first to permanently remain under state control. In light of a new poll of Big Easy residents showing strong support for state-controlled charter schools, as well as pervasive distrust of the New Orleans Parish School Board, State Superintendent Paul Pastorek has laid out several plans for the future of state-led Recovery School District, including permanent state-hood. (There are other less-surprising options on the table too, such as a phased return of schools back to the city, probably to a new entity that would replace the Parish School Board.) It's difficult to argue with the progress in NOLA schools since RSD has been calling the shots--the percentage of failing schools is significantly down, while test scores continue to rise in every subject across every grade, charter and non-charter alike. RSD Superintendent Paul G. Vallas hails the state takeover as the most important of four key strategies to New Orleans reform, above charter schools, parental choice, and teacher quality. This is surprising because, historically, state takeovers have been much more successful at cleaning up financial corruption and waste than improving student learning. Then again, the New Orleans story is different than any other chapter in our nation's history.

"Pastorek: State-run schools to persist," by Brian Thevenot, New Orleans Times-Picayune, August 28, 2009

"'Race to the Top' Lessons From New Orleans," by Paul G. Vallas and Leslie R. Jacobs, Education Week, August 28, 2009 (subscription required)

Much has been said and written in memoriam about the Lion of the Senate. Since education policy was one of Senator Ted Kennedy's primary interests, we will add our voices to that chorus. Of all the particular facets of his legacy, the one we'll miss most is his singular focus on getting things done, enabled by his willingness to compromise and reach a conciliatory hand across the aisle. Is there anyone in either chamber that could step into that void? This isn't just a matter of which Democrat will succeed Kennedy as Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, though that individual will need a steely mettle, but an issue of Kennedy's unique form of leadership. Kennedy was a "dedicated liberal," explains Jack Jennings, President of the Center on Education Policy. But he "would have compromised this way or that way in order to get legislation through....I'm not sure there is somebody who could take over who would have that ability at this time." We're not sure either. One thing is for certain, though; the Lion's roar will be missed on many issues, not the least of which is education. 

"Kennedy Gone; Power Shuffles Likely on K-12," by Alyson Klein, Education Week, August 28, 2009

"Should a thousand bad teachers stay put so that one innocent teacher is protected?" That's what Steven Brill would like to know in his excellent New Yorker piece. The issue is due process: How much is too much and how little too little for the incompetent, miscreant, and excessed educators who remain on the payroll but not in a classroom? Of the 1,700 New York City teachers who live in this state of limbo, and will cost the city over $100 million in salary and benefits this year alone, how many deserve a second chance? The system, as written into the union contract, says all; common sense lists a number far fewer. Deputy chancellor Chris Cerf explains, "Our standard is tighter than ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.'" So much tighter, in fact, that the two to five year arbitration cases for teachers accused of incompetence or misconduct typically take twice as long as most cases of the criminal persuasion. As elementary school principal Anthony Lombardi explains, "Randi Weingarten would protect a dead body in the classroom." But this should not be our biggest worry. Only a tiny fraction of the total number of incompetent teachers winds up in the famed rubber room or excessed teacher reserve pool. "If you just focus on the people in the Rubber Rooms, you miss the real point, which is that, by making it so hard to get even the obvious freaks and crazies that are there off the payroll, you insure that the teachers who are simply incompetent or mediocre are never incented to improve and are never removable," explains Lombardi. That's depressing enough to make any sensible reformer want to bounce his or her head against the wall.

"The Rubber Room: The battle of New York City's worst teachers," by Steven Brill, The New Yorker, August 31, 2009

"Amid Hiring Freeze, Principals Leave Jobs Empty," by Jennifer Medina, The New York Times, August 29, 2009

Bart Sutherin is a total helicopter parent. Really. He flew his son, ninth grader Joseph Sutherin, to his first day of school this year in a rented bird. Unfortunately, neither Joseph nor his father thought to alert school district officials or the local sheriff's office to their plan. And the unexpected chopper was reported to the FAA, which is now investigating the incident. The idea was to "make a positive impression on the other students," says the father. Joseph agrees, "It wasn't something everyone did every day. It would be extraordinary, and I could say, ‘Yeah, I flew into the school in a helicopter.'" But Principal David E. Cunningham would like to keep helicopter parents strictly metaphorical: This is "not something that needs to happen every day--or ever."

"Boy gets special ride to school--in a helicopter; FAA alerted," by Denise-Marie Balona, Orlando Sentinel, August 26, 2009

William Howell, Martin West, and Paul Peterson
Education Next
Fall 2009

Public opinion remains largely stable over time, as demonstrated by the latest Kappan poll results. This is in large part due to the fickleness of public discourse, explain the authors of this brief, in which constantly shifting support for or against an idea tends to cancel itself out in the aggregate. But are there factors that can shape public discussion? This 10-pager combines a couple of surveys, the most interesting and recent (March 2009) of which looks at the effect of new information--specifically the support of President Obama or research evidence--on public opinion. The authors asked three groups of respondents about three common education policy topics: merit pay, charter schools, and school vouchers. The first group they asked without any qualifying information; the second group was informed if Obama supported (merit pay and charter schools) or opposed the idea (school vouchers); and the third group was presented with research that supported (merit pay and charter schools) or refuted the policy (school vouchers). Then each group of respondents was broken down by political affiliation and race. In all three cases, presidential opinion and research evidence influenced respondents' support or lack thereof. When told that Obama supported merit pay, for example, respondents liked the idea 13 percentage points more than those who were not told of Obama's support; supportive research evidence hiked respondent patronage by six percentage points. African-Americans were even more likely to support merit pay after told Obama supported the concept; their support jumped from 12 to 31 percent. And, in general, across all three topics, Democrats tended to respond more markedly to presidential opinion and to research evidence than Republicans. A second part of the brief concerns an older survey that looked at public knowledge on education; echoing the Kappan results, this survey found that Americans know much less than they think they do. The lesson to be learned, it seems, is that public opinion can be influenced by political actors and research evidence--and this can be helpful if used well, or dangerous if used poorly. Read it here.

William J. Bushaw and John A. McNee
Phi Delta Kappan
September 2009

This hefty annual offering, which features some repeat questions and others dusted-off less frequently, is worth a yearly revisit. There's so much data in this big guy that we'd be hard pressed to even scratch the surface but we'll give it our best shot. So what do we think about public education in 2009? First, public schools aren't great and are getting worse. While most of us (51 percent) rate our local schools highly, far fewer (19 percent) are pleased with public schools nationally. Fifty percent say children today get a worse education than they received themselves. Second, we don't like the brand called No Child Left Behind but we support its major mandates. Just 28 percent look favorably on NCLB and only 24 percent believe the law is helping our local schools. Yet, two-thirds of us support requiring annual tests in grades three through eight, and this support has remained steady since 2002. And just one-third support letting each state use its own tests; instead, we continue to favor using a single standardized test nationwide, just as we did in 2002. (This should be welcome news to the Common Core State Standards initiative.) Third, we're not convinced early childhood education is worth the investment. Fifty-nine percent of us (including 53 percent of public school parents) believe that starting formal education one year earlier than usual would have a negative or no effect on children's future academic achievement (this is down just two points from 1997). Further, fewer of us are willing to pay more in taxes to fund preschool for disadvantaged children (42 percent said no in 2009, up from 36 percent in 1993). Fourth, we're pro-merit-pay and want to use student achievement to inform it. Seventy-two percent of us support merit pay for teachers, and 73 percent believe it should be fed by student performance measured by standardized tests. Fifth, charter support is growing. Two-thirds now support the idea of charter schools, up 15 percent from five years ago. And sixth, we're not as informed as we think we are. Nearly three-quarters of us claim to be "well-informed" or "fairly well-informed" about public schools. At the same time, more than half of us do not think charter schools are public schools, 46 percent believe they can teach religion, 57 percent say they can charge tuition, and a whopping 71 percent believe charters can select students based on ability--up from 58 percent just three years ago. Read the report here.