Colorado Education Issues Survey

Survey Overview

Key Findings:

• When asked about the importance of public education to them personally, 75% of voters answered that it is either very important (38%) or extremely important (37%). Clearly public education is a significant issue for Colorado voters, whether they have a child in the public school system or not.

• Colorado voters are split on the proper role of the federal government in our public education system, as 35% believe the federal government should be less involved while 34% believe that federal government should be more involved.

• A plurality of Colorado voters, 30% believe the most important characteristic for a public school is having strong academic standards, followed by fostering a positive learning environment (19%), hiring quality teachers (17%), and ensuring school safety and security (17%).

• Fifty-eight percent of voters have a favorable opinion of public schools in Colorado. The most common reasons given are a positive personal experience with public schools and quality teachers. The most common reasons given for why voters have an unfavorable opinion of public schools are: a negative personal experience with public schools, lack of funding to the classroom, a negative learning environment for students, a perceived political agenda in the schools, and low standards resulting in students unprepared for life after school.

• Forty-three percent of voters have a favorable opinion of charter schools in Colorado. The most common reasons given are: a positive personal experience with charter schools, higher standards, and a more positive learning environment for students. The most common reasons given for why voters have an unfavorable opinion of charter schools are the perception that they remove resources from public schools and are lacking accountability and diversity.

• When asked if they approve or disapprove of the job their local public schools are doing educating and preparing students for the future, 59% approve and 32% disapprove.

• To measure voters’ perception of school choice in Colorado, the survey asked if parents in Colorado already have the freedom to choose which school their child attends, or if more needs to be done in order to give parents that freedom. The survey found that 47% believe that parents already have school choice, while 40% believe that more needs to be done.

• Regardless whether they are a parent or not, voters were asked which type of school they would choose to provide their child the best education possible. Public school was the top choice at 41%, though the combination of those who chose a private school (28%) or charter school (16%) was slightly higher at 44%. This is significant because there is evidence in the verbatim responses that voters conflate private schools and charter schools. They essentially view them together as distinct from a traditional public school. Home school was the choice for 9% of respondents.

• Voters overwhelmingly believe that students in local school districts are spending too much time preparing for and taking standardized tests, with 67% of voters agreeing with that statement and only 19% disagreeing.

• When asked about funding for public schools in Colorado, 67% of voters think that public schools are underfunded while 20% do not.

• Half of all voters disagree with the statement that school districts in Colorado effectively manage their financial resources and spend taxpayer money wisely, compared to 36% who agree.

• Sixty-one percent of voters support state-funded, full-day kindergarten, regardless of the cost to Colorado taxpayers, including 36% who strongly support the policy.

• Nearly 3 out of 4 voters believe that public school teachers are underpaid in Colorado. The most common reasons given for why voters think public school teachers are underpaid were: the demands/stress of the job, the importance of the job for our future, and teachers struggling to make ends meet because of the cost of living or other expenses. The most common reasons given for why voters do not think public school teachers are underpaid were: they do not work year-round, they have favorable pensions/benefits, and they knew the pay when they entered the profession.

• While only 11% of voters believe that public schools are very safe for students, a large majority of 71% thinks that schools are somewhat safe. It is important to note that these interviews were conducted before the shooting at STEM School Highlands Ranch.

• In another broad measurement of voter satisfaction with the public education system, respondents were asked if they agree that the public education system in Colorado is setting up students for success in the future. A majority of 63% agreed with that statement, while only 26% disagreed.

• Voters were asked their impression of how important a college education is today, with an option of very important, somewhat important or not important at all. There was an even split in the responses between somewhat important (45%) and very important (43%).

• There was significant agreement across all voter subgroups on the issue of vocational training. When asked whether they agree that Colorado public high schools should do more to focus on vocational training, an overwhelming majority of 83% of respondents agreed.

• After a brief informative statement on the issue of school vouchers, voters were asked whether they support or oppose a school voucher program. Half of all voters support a school voucher program after the explanation that a school voucher program allows parents to allocate public funding towards their child’s education at a private school of their choice, including religiously affiliated private schools.