WASHINGTON — With an increased number of parents expecting their children to go to college, K-12 educators must focus more time and effort on how to put effective teachers in the classroom who can help turn those higher education dreams into a reality.
Such was one of several conclusions drawn during a panel discussion Wednesday on the heels of a new Gallup Poll that shows growing disenchantment with public schools, a growing belief that teacher quality matters, and parental expectations of college that far exceed the population of students who are prepared to go to college and succeed.
“Who doesn’t want access to a middle-class way of life in this country?” asked Temple University College of Education Dean C. Kent McGuire, referring to a postsecondary credential as the means to a better life.
However, McGuire said there is a “huge gap” between the number of youths who aspire to go to college versus those who will go, much less persist in college and graduate on time, as well as serious issues about how to improve teacher quality and effectiveness in a way that prepares students for the demands of college.
McGuire was one of several panelists who spoke at Gallup World Headquarters Wednesday during an event titled “School of Thought: Data-Driven Insights to Inform Education Policy.” The panel discussion followed the release of A Time for Change: The 42nd Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.
In the realm of higher education, the poll found that:
n Seventy-five percent of parents in 2010 thought a college education was very important, versus only 58 percent in 1983 and 36 percent in 1978.
n Ninety-two percent of parents in 2010 thought their child would go to college, versus 82 percent in 1995, and 57 percent in 1982.
n Fifty-one percent of parents believe elementary and high schools are making high school graduates better or equally prepared for work and college than when they were in school but 47 percent believe schools are making high school graduates less prepared.
