Public Opinion

Parents believe math is an essential life skill.

Parents believe a good grasp of math—from addition and subtraction to Algebra—is necessary for students to succeed once they graduate from high school, whether they continue on to college or not. This message emerged as an overriding theme from the opinions of 48 parents who, in December 2006, participated in three-hour focus groups conducted in Yakima, Spokane, Wenatchee, Vancouver, Kirkland and Tukwila.

The focus groups were organized by the Partnership for Learning and conducted by the Portland-based opinion research firm Davis, Hibbitts & Midghall. They explored how parents viewed math through the lens of their own experiences, as well as how their own children were dealing with math in middle and high school. The sessions also probed into how much math parents think their children must take to be successful after high school.

All of the parents who participated had at least one child in middle or high school. Their professions ran the gamut from engineers, accountants and truck drivers to stay-at-home parents.

 

 

African Americans and Latinos support testing and school accountability.

A statewide poll in June 2006 of 500 African American and Latino citizens in Washington state revealed high levels of support for requiring that students pass the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL)—or an equally rigorous alternative—in order to earn a high school diploma. In fact, 72% of Latino citizens and 62% of African American citizens believed that a diploma should be awarded only after passing the WASL or an alternative. Moreover, 81% of Latinos and 83% of African American respondents said they would support this requirement even if they had a child who did not pass the WASL on the first try.

 

When asked what level of education they believe will be necessary for students to secure a job that enables them to support a family, 77% of Latinos and 82% of African Americans said students would need at least two years of education or training beyond the high school diploma. View the press release [PDF] with an overview of the results.