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Digest of Education Statistics
1998 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest

Table 24. -  Public opinion of public and private school choice: 1989 to 1998
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
                                        |               Percent who favor position
                                        |_____________________________________________________________________
                                        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |                   1998
                                        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |__________________________________
                Question                |1989|1990|1991|1993|1995|1996|1997|     |   No    | Public |Nonpublic
                                        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |Total|children | school | school
                                        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |     |in school|parents | parents
________________________________________|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|_____|_________|________|_________
                   1                    | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 6  | 7  | 8  |  9  |   10    |   11   |   12
________________________________________|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|_____|_________|________|_________
                                        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |     |         |        |
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 |--- |--- | --- |     --- |    --- |     ---
                                        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |     |         |        |
Do you favor or oppose allowing         |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |     |         |        |
  students and parents to choose        |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |     |         |        |
  a private school to attend at         |    |    |    |    |    |    |    |     |         |        |
  public expense?.......................|--- |--- | 26 | 24 | 33 | 36 | 44 |  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 |--- |--- |  75 |      74 |     80 |      62
    No, should not be accountable.......|--- |--- |--- | 34 | 24 |--- |--- |  20 |      22 |     16 |      26
    Don't know..........................|--- |--- |--- |  3 |  3 |--- |--- |   5 |       4 |      4 |      12
________________________________________|____|____|____|____|____|____|____|_____|_________|________|_________

---Data not available.

SOURCE: Phi Delta Kappan, "The Annual Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools," various years. (This table was prepared September 1998.)


1998 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest