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Digest of Education Statistics
1996 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 23.Public opinion of public and private school choice: 1989 to 1995

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        |    Percent who favor position
                                        |-------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        |       |       |       |       |              1995
                                        |       |       |       |       |-----------------------------------
                Question                | 1989  | 1990  | 1991  | 1993  |     |   No    | Public  |Nonpublic
                                        |       |       |       |       |Total|children | school  | school
                                        |       |       |       |       |     |in school| parents | parents
----------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-----|---------|---------|---------
                   1                    |   2   |   3   |   4   |   5   |  6  |    7    |    8    |    9
----------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-----|---------|---------|---------
                                        |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
Do you favor or oppose allowing         |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  students and their parents to         |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  choose which public schools in the    |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  community the students attend         |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  regardless of where they live?........|    60 |    62 |    62 |    65 |  69 |      69 |      69 |      78
                                        |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
Do you favor or oppose allowing         |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  students and parents to choose        |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  a private school to attend at         |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  public expense?.......................|   --- |   --- |    26 |    24 |  33 |      30 |      38 |      44
                                        |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
Do you think private schools that accept|       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  government tuition payments for       |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  these students should be accountable  |       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
  to public authorities or not?.........|       |       |       |       |     |         |         |
    Yes, should be accountable..........|   --- |   --- |   --- |    63 |  73 |     --- |     --- |     ---
    No, should not be accountable.......|   --- |   --- |   --- |    34 |  24 |     --- |     --- |     ---
    Don't know..........................|   --- |   --- |   --- |     3 |   3 |     --- |     --- |     ---
----------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-----|---------|---------|---------

---Not applicable.

SOURCE: Phi Delta Kappan, "The Annual Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools," September 1995. (This table was prepared April 1996.)


1996 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest