New Evidence Questions School Choice Poll (NAPSA)—Do parents really want school choice? The only way to know for sure is to ask the right questions. Each year, Phi Delta Kappa (PDK), a national advocacy group, releases a poll on the issue of school choice and school vouchers. For years, experts such as Terry Moe of Stanford University have argued that the poll’s school choice question uses biased questions that make it seem as if parents don’t want school choice when in fact they do. Many experts say that it’s a bad idea to make policy decisions based on what seems like a misleadingpoll. “This issue is too important to muddy the waters with biased polls,” said Robert C. Enlow, executive director of the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. To clarify the issue, the foundation conducted its ownpoll. The Friedmanpoll, conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 1,000 American adults, asking them either the PDK poll question or a nearly identical question with just two small changes removing the controversial words. The results were enlightening. A small wording change between the two questions produced a dramatic 23-point shift in the poll results. Without the controversial question wording, 60 percent of Americans favor school choice, compared to 37 percent using the PDK question. An identical test conducted on last year’s poll found that the same change produced a 22-point shift in results. To find out if parents really want school choice, it’s important to ask the right questions. PDK Question (n=500) “Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense?” Results: * 37 percent Favor * 55 percent Oppose * 5 percent Neither Favor nor Oppose * 3 percent Don’t Know/ Refused Adjusted Question (n=500) “Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose any school, public or private, to attend using public funds?” Results: * 60 percent Favor * 33 percent Oppose * 5 percent Neither Favor or Oppose * 2 percent Don’t Know/ Refused “Too many children aren’t getting an education that is tailored to fit their individual needs,” said Enlow. “America’s parents understand that, and that’s why they support school choice by such a large margin.”
