(NAPSA)—Many parents of school-age children are unhappy with the amountof time spent on standardized tests and have School Parents React to Time Spent on Standardized Tests in America's Schools strong opinions on other contro- versial education policies, including Common Core and school vouchers. That’s a key finding of the latest version of an annualpoll on parents and schoolpolicies. Called the Schooling in America Survey, it’s released annually by the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice and Braun Research andit includes a statistically representative sample of school parents. In this most recent version, it found that 44 percent of those parents surveyed said children spend too muchtimepreparing for and taking assessments, 22 percent said too little, 30 percent said the focus is about right, and 4 percent had no opinion. On the Common Core state standards, 49 percent of parents oppose the standards whereas 44 percent are supportive. However, intensity among parents was more pronounced as 33 percent “strong- ly oppose” Common Core compared with 12 percent who “strongly favor” the policy. Compared to findings in last year’s Friedman Foundation/ Braun Research poll, support grew for “school choice,” which can include vouchers and charter schools amongotherpolicies: *More than six in 10 Americans (63 percent) support vouch- ers compared with 33 percent opposed. In 2012, 56 percent favored vouchers. Among parents, voucher support was 69 percent compared with 27 percent opposed. In 2012, 59 percent of parents supported and 25 percent opposed vouchers. *Greatest support for school vouchers was among African Americans (74 percent), Hispan- NO OPINION men RY yb Oe acon Teh According to a recent survey, 44 percent of those parents queried said children spend too much time preparing for and taking assessments. ics (72 percent), young adults (69 percent) and Republicans (69 percent). When asked if they were more or less likely to support a pro-voucher candidate, 32 percent of school parents were more likely to support such a candidate compared with 12 percent saying less likely. Among all respondents, 27 percent said they were morelikely to support a pro-voucher candidate with 16 percent being less likely. “No matter the outcome of the fall elections, what parents and the general public think about Common Core, standardized test- ing, and school choice will have a serious impact on state legislatures,” said Robert Enlow, president and CEO of the Friedman Foundation. The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and nonpartisan organization. It promotes school choice as the most effective and equitable way to improve the quality of K-12 education in America. To learn more about the survey, visit the website at www.ed choice.org/2014SchoolingSurvey.
