NATIONAL SURVEY REVEALS PARENTS’ AGENDA FOR SCHOOLS AND FUNDING

White Plains, NY – September 5, 2001 - With children back for another school year and elected officials debating the fate of “failing schools,” a newly released national survey by Teachers’ Insurance Plan reveals that public school parents have their own set of answers that runs counter to some of the solutions currently on the table. And the parents are prepared to put their money where their mouths are to pay for their priorities.

When given the choice, 65% of public school parents would rather see more money go to public education than toward a tax cut. That preference had wide support within virtually all demographics of Americans surveyed, including even the parents of children in private schools, of whom 55% agreed.

When asked to set priorities for schools, Americans overall ranked class size and teacher salaries at the top of their list. 29% said reducing class size was their number one priority. Paying teachers a “fair wage” came in a close second, with 26% of those surveyed ranking it number one. Those two items beat out all other education priorities by substantial margins, which included tutors for failing students (16%), providing classroom computers (11%), school building repair (7%), voucher programs (5%) and additional pre-K classes (3%).

The survey also revealed that some of the other high-profile solutions currently being considered by legislators around the country lack public support. Public school parents believe using standardized tests as a measure of a school’s success has a down-side; 53% saying that standardized testing forces teachers to “focus too much attention on subjects to be tested,” to the detriment of a broader education. However, when faced with a school that is failing on standardized tests, 54% believe education funding should be increased to “bring up the quality of the education” being provided, rather than developing alternative programs.

One such program, school vouchers, which is often cited as an answer to failing schools, proved highly unpopular in the survey. Just 35% of Americans overall support the creation of a voucher program to improve the education system, with 56% believing the program would ultimately reduce the money available to local public schools. The only category of adults polled who favor vouchers are parents of children already in private schools. 66% of private school parents support the creation of voucher programs.

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Source: The “Teachers’ Insurance Plan National Education Survey” was sponsored by Teachers’ Insurance Plan, developed with Leflein Associates and conducted by Opinion Research Corp. 1,046 adults were polled by telephone May 3-6, 2001. Margin of error: +/- 3%. Full survey results in the About Teachers’ Insurance Plan section of www.Teachers.com. Just click on “Latest News.”

About Teachers’ Insurance Plan: Teachers’ Insurance Plan provides low cost insurance and other services exclusively to educators and their families. Teachers’ Insurance Plan regularly sponsors national surveys and research on education issues. It is a program of the Response Insurance companies and is headquartered in White Plains NY.

CONTACT: Ray Palermo - 203-634-7251 - Off-hours 1-800-759-8888 (PIN 1196453) - RPalermo@Response.com.

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