rhode island poll highlights (2013)
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
Nearly three out of four voters in Rhode Island (72%)
say they pay attention to issues in K-12 education.
Rhode Islanders are much more likely to say K-12
education has gotten off on the “wrong track”
(52%), compared to the one-third of voters (32%)
who say it is heading in the “right direction.”
Six out of ten respondents gave negative ratings to
the state’s public school system. (35% said “good”
or “excellent”; 60% said “fair” or “poor”)
Eighty percent of Rhode Islanders either
underestimate educational spending per student, or
they could not guess. When given the latest per-
student spending information, voters are less likely to
say funding is at a level that is “too low,” compared to
answering without having such information.
Of those respondents giving a grade, Rhode Islanders
are much more likely to give grades A or B to private
schools in their local areas, compared to nearby
district schools and public charter schools.
Rhode Island voters have a wide range of
schooling preferences: 54% prefer private school;
29% would select public school; 10% say public
charter school; 4% would like to homeschool.
56% of voters support school vouchers, which
is significantly greater than the proportion
opposed (33%). Even without a definition of
any kind, support for vouchers is greater than
opposition by a nearly two-to-one margin.
(40% favor vs. 23% oppose)
The demographics most likely to favor vouchers
are school parents (62%), urbanites (63%),
Republicans (65%), conservatives (67%), young
voters (62%), and low-income earners (63%).
Liberals are the least likely to support (49%).
There is much higher support for vouchers with
universal eligibility (62%), compared to the
proportion who supports means-testing (32%).
By a two-to-one margin, voters support the
school choice policy financing tax-credit
scholarships. (57% favor vs. 28% oppose)
A plurality of Rhode Islanders (46%) favor
education savings accounts (ESAs).
Voters are twice almost three times as likely
to support public charter schools. (62% favor
vs. 22% oppose)
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE RHODE ISLAND K-12 & SCHOOL CHOICE SURVEY
DIRECTION OF K-12 EDUCATION
RATING THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS SYSTEM
SPENDING ON K-12 EDUCATION
PAYING ATTENTION TO K-12 EDUCATION
GRADING AREA SCHOOLS
SELECTING A SCHOOL
SCHOOL VOUCHERS
OTHER K-12 EDUCATION REFORMS
Title: Rhode Island K-12 & School Choice Survey
Survey Organization: Braun Research, Inc. (BRI)
Survey Sponsor: The Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice
Release Partner(s): Rhode Island Center for Freedom & Prosperity
Interview Dates: June 24 to July 8, 2013
Interview Method: Live Telephone | 70% landline and 30% cell phone
Interview Length: 12 minutes (average)
Language(s): English
Sample Frame: Registered Voters
Sampling Method: Dual Frame; Probability Sampling; Random Digit Dial (RDD)
Population Samples: RHODE ISLAND = 602
Providence = 359
South/East = 243
Margins of Error: RHODE ISLAND = ± 4.0 percentage points
Providence = ± 5.2 percentage points
South/East = ± 6.3 percentage points
Response Rates: Landline (LL) = 14.6%
Cell Phone = 11.0%
Weighting? Yes (Landline/Cell , Age, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, and Region)
Oversampling? No
Project Contact:
Paul DiPerna | Research Director |[email protected]
SURVEY PROFILE