News Release

Virginians say 'spend more on public (K-12) schools'; survey shows that concern about violence in schools remains high

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Virginia Tech

Virginians think highly of the state's public schools and favor more public spending, according to the 2000 Quality of Life in Virginia survey conducted by Virginia Tech's Center for Survey Research.

More than one-half (54 percent) of citizens agree that not enough is being spent on elementary and secondary public schools, while less than 5 percent say too much is spent. For the first time this year, citizens were asked whether the lottery should only be used to fund education in Virginia, reports Alan Bayer, center director. Some 64 percent said yes. "We only heard strong disagreement from 15 percent," he says. The survey determined that only 39 percent of Virginians played the lottery in the last year.

Three-fourths (78 percent) of those interviewed rate Virginia as an 'excellent' or 'good' place to get a public education, and 68 percent evaluate their local public schools as either 'excellent' or 'good'.

Where a person lived in the state, their age, gender, or education level made little difference in how they responded, observes Susan Willis-Walton, associate director of the survey center. That was a change from last year, when more residents of the urban crescent (the cities and counties in Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Hampton Roads) gave the "excellent" ranking to their schools than did rural residents.

More than three-fourths (79 percent, up from 75 percent) of Virginians believe public schools do a good job of teaching math and science, although 48 percent of respondents with some college education disagree, compared to 25 percent of those with less education. However, in response to a new question, 59 percent agree that standardized test scores should be used to judge how well public schools are doing.

Since last year's survey was conducted after the shooting at Columbine High School, a question about public school administrator responsibility in preventing school violence was added last year, explains Willis-Walton. "This year we repeated that question and added a question about metal detectors." The responses to questions related to controlling or responding to violence were:
* 82 percent agree school administrators should do more to prevent violence in schools (54 percent 'strongly agree').
* 75 percent agree public schools should install metal detectors at all entrances to keep weapons out of schools.
* 92 percent support having guidance counselors in all schools.
* 74 percent agree (50 percent 'strongly agree') that television network programming needs to be regulated to reduce the amount of violence shown.
* 48 percent agree uniforms should be required, compared in 44 percent in 1996; but 26 percent strongly disagree. "School uniforms are related because they were being proposed to prevent distinctions between students based on everything from the type of athletic shoes students can afford to attire they wear to identify them as a member of some group or gang," Bayer explains.

"It appears that the tragedy at Columbine High School was a watershed event and fears will continue. Future years' surveys will continue to monitor any shifts in perceptions about school violence," Willis-Walton says.

Several school policy questions were added to this year's survey. "Because of the public interest in K-12 education, we would like to see the annual quality of life project receive investment for an even more detailed survey on education issues in the future," Bayer says.
* 42 percent agree that Virginia public schools should require longer school years.
* 62 percent support school vouchers in Virginia.
* 84 percent agree that all public schools should have computers with Internet connections for their students.

In response to a continuing question, 80 percent agree that sex education should be taught in the schools -- up from 75 percent last year. Among residents of the urban crescent, 46 percent strongly agree, compared to 35 percent of citizens from elsewhere. People under 40 also agree in higher numbers, with 48 percent strongly agreeing, compared to 35 percent of people over 40.

Virginians also like their public colleges and universities, with 87 percent rating the state as an excellent or good place to get a college or university education. Regarding spending on colleges and universities, one-fourth thought it wasn't enough.

Surveyors completed 755 interviews to provide a representative sample of adult respondents in households across Virginia with a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3.6 percent. In other words, if the survey were repeated 100 times, results would vary beyond 3.6 percent in only five out of the 100 surveys.

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Copies of the QOL survey are available for $12 including postage and handling. Make check payable to Treasurer, Virginia Tech, and mail to the Virginia Tech Center for Survey Research, 207 W. Roanoke St. (0543), Blacksburg, VA 24061. Learn more about the center at STrulove@vt.edu

Note: This is one of two news releases about Virginians' response to the 2000 Quality of Life Survey


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