TEMPE (By Pat Kossan, Arizona Republic) April 30, 2004 -
Parents like the idea of using standardized test scores to rank schools and
requiring high school graduates to pass a test before they can earn a diploma.
They're also more likely to blame themselves, not their schools, when kids
fail.
The Arizona State University education survey released Thursday said parents
think failing schools should receive more money and assistance from the state.
"Parents clearly like the idea of accountability but want to see
underperforming schools get help," said Alex Molnar, the ASU research director
who co-authored the report. "They seem pretty wise to me."
Study results separated opinions of non-Hispanic parents and Hispanic parents
and found that no matter the ethnicity, parents have the same ideas about
education for their children.
Liliana Varela came from Mexico, where she said parents must pay for their
children's education - every pencil and every piece of paper. Now, her three
children attend school for free at central Phoenix's Dunbar Elementary.
"I think everybody wants education for our kids and are trying to find the
good schools and the good teachers," Varela said.
Mary Lou Micheaels, a north Phoenix mother of three, said she was pleased to
know parents agree that training children to be good students begins at home
"I'm glad someone took the time to bring it to light," she said.
Micheaels can thank Arizona's three universities for the fresh look at what
parents are thinking.
ASU is leading the new coalition called the Arizona Education Policy
Initiative, an effort to use university resources to upgrade the state's
public schools. The initiative is funding the parent survey, which was
conducted in English and Spanish, and an overview of the history and
information gaps in the state's education system, including Native American
education and charter schools, scheduled to be released in May.
"The goal is that education policy would be based on evidence of what we know
and not someone's political agenda," ASU Vice President Eugene Garcia said.
"The idea was to get broad information. Are there good teachers in Arizona?
How do parents feel about their schools?"
ASU is providing about $50,000 in seed money, but Garcia is seeking money from
foundations and businesses to sustain the effort and create reports annually.
Among the survey findings:
• Seventy percent of parents said they agree with using standardized test
scores to rank a school's academic performance. More than half, 58 percent,
say high school graduates should be required to pass AIMS before they earn a
diploma.
The numbers made sense to Chandler mother of three Barb Mozdzen, who sees
standardized tests as "better than nothing" but worries about children who
have special needs, come from a different culture or don't do well on tests.
"There are good things and bad things about standardized tests, but there has
to be an objective way of measuring," Mozdzen said. "And we don't have a much
better solution, do we?"
• Nearly 80 percent of parents say they don't blame schools when kids in poor
and minority neighborhoods don't do well academically. Parents, including
Hispanic parents, are more likely to blame a tough life at home, parents who
aren't involved in their education, and language barriers.
Central Phoenix mom Varela said teachers can do very little to create a good
student unless they get parent support.
"If we don't teach manners at home, how are they going to respect teachers at
school?" she said. "If parents don't help to straighten children out,
sometimes the teacher's hands are tied."
Central Phoenix mother Susan Levy said she's not surprised that most parents
understand what happens at home reflects on what happens in the classroom.
"What if a child hasn't eaten breakfast and is hungry?" Levy asked. "What if
they are worried they'll go home and get beaten?"
• Seventy percent of parents say teachers and administrators treat all
children, including minorities, equally.
Mozdzen sees evidence of that in her own child: "I look at my 11-year-old son.
He's colorblind when it comes to kids in his classroom. I think that's
wonderful."
Pollster Bruce Merrill, an ASU professor, co-authored the telephone survey
conducted March 17-27.
A random sampling of 400 parents statewide answered the survey, along with an
additional targeted 355 Hispanic parents.
