Poll Finds Tennesseans Want Higher School Standards, Despite Costs

More than two-thirds of Tennesseans want higher testing standards in public schools, despite the added cost to districts and the hardship on students whose grades will drop. The poll was paid for by the education advocacy group called SCORE, founded by former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

It’s no surprise the 600 respondents largely said they strongly support the state’s decision to increase testing standards for K-12 students. But the poll goes on to see if those opinions hold true even when test scores nose dive and local school systems have to pay for additional teacher training and buy new text books.

SCORE spokesman Will Pinkston says the majority who favor raising the bar don’t seem to care.

“No matter how you ask the question or what information you provide voters, their support holds up almost uniformly for high standards. So we were pleasantly surprised by that outcome.”

The timing of the poll’s release coincides with an important decision by the State Board of Education this week. The panel will vote to either fully implement the tougher standards this fall or try phasing them in over several years.

See the exact wording of SCORE’s recent poll here.

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The survey also found mixed opinions on charter schools, new teacher evaluations and state takeovers of low-performing schools.

From SCORE:

For example, 31% of voters support charter schools while a similar number (29%) oppose them, with 40% undecided. Meanwhile, 40% of voters support Tennessee’s new law requiring that half of a teacher’s evaluation be based on student test scores and student performance data while about one-third of voters (34%) oppose the law, with 26% undecided. A majority of voters (52%) supports Tennessee’s new law allowing the state to take over persistently failing schools, with 40% opposing it.