Alaska K-12 &amp; School Choice Survey: What Do Voters Say about K-12 Education? Polling Paper No. 3
Author: DiPerna, Paul
Date: 2011-10-27
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
Subjects: Charter Schools,Elementary Secondary Education,Opinions,School Choice,Familiarity,Educational Quality,Sampling,Scholarships,Educational Vouchers,Educational Attitudes,Voting,Tax Credits,Educational Policy,Interviews,Public Schools,Virtual Classrooms,Money Management,Surveys

The &quot;Alaska K-12 &amp; School Choice Survey&quot; project, commissioned by The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and conducted by Braun Research Incorporated (BRI), measures Alaska registered voters' familiarity and views on a range of K-12 education issues and school choice reforms. The author and his colleagues report response levels and differences (they use the term &quot;net score&quot; or &quot;net&quot;) of voter opinion, and the intensity of responses. Where do the voters stand on important issues and policy proposals in K-12 education? They provide some observations and insights in the following pages of this paper. A randomly selected and statistically representative sample of Alaska voters recently responded to 18 substantive questions and 10 demographic questions. A total of 1,006 telephone interviews were conducted in English from September 10-18, 2011, by means of both landline and cell phone. Statistical results were weighted to correct for known demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the total sample of interviews is [plus or minus]3.1 percentage points. Margin of error for the Anchorage sample (within the statewide sample) is approximately [plus or minus]5.4 percentage points. In this project the author and his colleagues included four split-sample experiments. A split sample design is a systematic way of comparing the effects of two or more alternative wordings for a given question. The purpose is to see if particular wording, or providing a new piece of information, can significantly influence opinion on a given topic. findings. Key findings include: (1) The vast majority of Alaska's voters (73%) are paying attention to issues in K-12 education. Only 8% of voters say they pay no attention; (2) Alaskans are more likely to think that K-12 education is heading in the &quot;right direction&quot; (46%) compared to being on the &quot;wrong track&quot; (39%); (3) Alaska voters are divided in the way they rate the state's public school system (48% say &quot;good&quot; or &quot;excellent&quot;; 47% say &quot;fair&quot; or &quot;poor&quot;). Anchorage is less positive (42%) and considerably more negative (54%) than the state overall; (4) Generally speaking, Alaska voters have no idea how much is spent in the public schools. There is a huge information gap; (5) When given the latest per-student spending information, voters are more likely to say public school funding is at a level that is &quot;about right&quot; or &quot;too high&quot; compared to answering without having such information; (6) When asked for a preferred school type, Alaska voters express a gaping disconnect between their preferred school type and actual enrollment patterns; (7) Nearly one out of five voters in the survey prioritize a &quot;better/quality education&quot; as the key attribute they are looking for in the selection of a school. The second most important attribute, as suggested by 14% of all voters, is &quot;individual/one-on-one attention.&quot; Survey results indicate &quot;socialization&quot; (10%) is ranked third; (8) Alaska voters are much more likely to favor charter schools (72%), rather than oppose such schools (11%); (9) Despite low familiarity, Alaskans view virtual schools favorably. Nearly half of voters (48%) favor virtual schools compared to those who say they oppose them (39%) as a school option; (10) No matter how the author and his team asked the question about tax-credit scholarships, at least 64% of voters say they favor such a system, compared to 21% (at most) who say they oppose; (11) Alaskans clearly support an &quot;education savings account&quot; system (also called &quot;ESA&quot;) The percentage of those who favor the policy (61%) is more than double who say they oppose (27%); (12) Alaska voters give clear, strong support for school vouchers; and (13) Alaskans support a constitutional amendment that would allow school vouchers (54% favor vs. 37% oppose). (Contains 2 footnotes.)