Educating children and youth – voter views on how California is doing:


An EdSource-Berkeley IGS Survey

Published on October 4, 2017

Registered voters in California endorse the recent change in state education policy, which puts less emphasis on relying mainly on standardized test scores when evaluating the performance of the public schools. Standardized tests for many years were the mainstay of state and federal school accountability policies.

But responding to a poll commissioned by EdSource and conducted by the Berkeley Institute of Government Studies, large majorities of California voters gave greater importance to creating a safe and positive school environment, promoting higher graduation rates, preparing non-college bound students to enter the workforce, and preparing students for college than to test scores alone. However, they overwhelmingly support expanding science and computer education starting in elementary school.

 

The statewide poll was administered online using the YouGov Internet panel in English and Spanish among 1,200 registered voters in late August and early September 2017.