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Table 24. Public opinion on selected education topics: 1997, 2000, 2001, and 2002

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                  |                      Percent distribution
                                  |__________________________________________________________________
             Question             |    National totals| No children in school | Public school parents
                                  |___________________|_______________________|______________________
                                  |1997|2000|2001|2002|1997 |2000 |2001 |2002 |1997|2000|2001|2002
__________________________________|____|____|____|____|_____|_____|_____|_____|____|____|____|_______
                1                 | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6   |  7  |  8  |  9  |10  |11  |12  | 13
__________________________________|____|____|____|____|_____|_____|_____|_____|____|____|____|_______
                                  |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
In your opinion, is there too     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 much emphasis on achievement     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 testing in the public schools    |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 in this community, not enough    |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 emphasis on testing, or about    |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 the right amount?                |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
  Percent responding .............| 100| 100| 100| 100|  100|  100|  100|  100| 100| 100| 100| 100
  Too much emphasis ..............|  20|  30|  31|  31|   20|   28|   29|   30|  19|  34|  36|  32
  Not enough emphasis ............|  28|  23|  22|  19|   28|   26|   22|   20|  26|  19|  20|  14
  Just the right amount of        |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
    emphasis .....................|  48|  43|  44|  47|   46|   41|   45|   46|  54|  46|  43|  54
  Don't know......................|   4|   4|   3|   3|    6|    5|    4|    4|   1|   1|   1|  #
                                  |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
A proposal has been made that     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 would allow parents to send      |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 their school-age children to     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 any public, private, or church-  |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 related school they choose.  For |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 those parents choosing non-      |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 public schools, the government   |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 would pay all or part of the     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 tuition.  Would you favor or     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 oppose this proposal in your     |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
 state?                           |    |    |    |    |     |     |     |     |    |    |    |
  Percent responding:             | 100| 100| 100| 100| --- | --- | --- |  100| 100| 100| 100| 100
  Favor ..........................|  49|  45|  44|  52| --- | --- | --- |   51|  55|  47|  52|  51
  Oppose .......................……|  48|  52|  54|  46| --- | --- | --- |   47|  43|  51|  47|  46
  Don't know .....................|   3|   3|   2|   2| --- | --- | --- |    2|   2|   2|   1|   3
__________________________________|____|____|____|____|_____|_____|_____|_____|____|____|____|_______

---Not available.
#Rounds to zero.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.

SOURCE: Phi Delta Kappa, Phi Delta Kappan, "The Annual Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools," 2002. (This table was prepared August 2002.)

National Center for Education Statistics - http://nces.ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education