Americans: Our Education System Is a Major Concern

Americans: Our Education System Is a Major Concern

A majority of Americans say they are not satisfied with the nation’s education system. They also have little hope that public schools will improve anytime soon.

That information comes from a public opinion study released earlier this month.

John Della Volpe directed the poll¹ for RealClear Politics. The poll asked registered voters about their thoughts and expectations of K-12 education. K-12 schools are kindergartens, elementary and secondary schools.

Volpe told VOA that Americans have major concerns about the quality of K-12 schools.

"And they expect and will soon be demanding more from elected officials at all levels of government.”

Volpe says the majority of voters believe the current education system is performing “only fair or poor.”

Only a small number, eight percent, say it is excellent.

People do not have a lot of hope for improvement, either. Most people answered that they do not think American schools will be a model for the world in the next 20 years.

The United States, Volpe says, has “a long way to go in order for us to lead the world in quality education.”

U.S. public schools

Public schools in the U.S. provide education from kindergarten through 12th grade. They are generally free for students. Each of the 50 states manages its own public school system.

Financial support for public schools comes from state and local governments. The federal government provides a small percentage of the money needed, too.

Much of the money comes from local property taxes. So, there are often differences between schools in wealthier neighborhoods and those in poorer areas.

Volpe said people’s beliefs about their schools are “highly” connected to how much money they make.

“You are three and a half times more likely to…believe you are in a good school district or that education will be better in the future and a standard for others to follow if you come from a household who has income of $150,000 or more, relative to those who earn less than $50,000.”

Because of this, he says, there is “a rising sense of not only economic inequality in this country but educational inequality.”

What do Americans expect from their schools?

The researchers asked study participants what they want public schools to provide children. The participants chose from a list of 15 possible priorities².

The top answer? Schools should teach students to read and write. Next was to teach them to be “good citizens.” The third-most important priority³ was to keep students “safe from violence and physical harm.”

Preparing students to “enter the workforce” and giving them “knowledge of American history” came in fourth and fifth.

Only about half of the participants said schools should prepare students for college. That choice came in 13th.

In a time of great political division in the U.S., Volpe says, education is an exception.

“K-12 education is one of very few issues where partisanship⁴ and ideology⁵ is not a major factor or a major driver.”

People from both major political parties agree that the education system needs improvement. Fifty-one percent of Republicans⁶ and 55 percent of Democrats⁷ rate American education as “only fair” or “poor.”

K-12 education is an important issue to voters. But it has not received much attention so far in the 2020 political election cycle.

Instead, politicians have debated about higher education, such as whether colleges and universities should be free.

Volpe says the poll shows that education is an issue that will be important in 2020.

“I think the politicians and the candidates are not making (education) a priority. But I'm not sure that people are accepting that or will accept it any further. It is a top priority, and I think it can made a difference between candidates in the Democratic primary or certainly in the general election.”

I’m Anne Ball.

Words in This Story

poll – n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

key – adj. extremely important

status – n. the position or rank of someone or something when compared to others in a society, organization, group

school district – n. an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of

standard – n. a level of quality, achievement, etc., that is considered acceptable⁸ or desirable

inequality – n. an unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better opportunities than other people

priority – n. something that is more important than other things and that needs to be done or dealt with first

partnership⁹ – n. the state of being partners

factor – n. something that helps produce or influence a result : one of the things that cause something to happen

1 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

2 priorities   

n.先( priority的名词复数 )；优先；优先权；优先考虑的事

参考例句：

• The document provided a revealing insight into the government's priorities. 这份文件使人看出政府的轻重缓急是怎样安排的。
• We must work together to fund only our most important priorities. 我们必须共同努力，只为最重要的项目提供资金。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

4 Partisanship   

n. 党派性, 党派偏见

参考例句：

• Her violent partisanship was fighting Soames's battle. 她的激烈偏袒等于替索米斯卖气力。
• There was a link of understanding between them, more important than affection or partisanship. ' 比起人间的感情，比起相同的政见，这一点都来得格外重要。 来自英汉文学

5 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

6 republicans   

拥护共和政体者，共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5％ lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。

7 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 acceptable   

adj.可接受的，合意的，受欢迎的

参考例句：

• The terms of the contract are acceptable to us.我们认为这个合同的条件可以接受。
• Air pollution in the city had reached four times the acceptable levels.这座城市的空气污染程度曾高达可接受标准的四倍。

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。