Poll: Americans think Obama would do more for public schools

A greater proportion of Americans think that Senator Barack Obama would be more likely than Senator John McCain to improve public schools as president, according to a poll released Wednesday, August 20.

The survey, conducted by Phi Delta Kappa International and the Gallup Organization, reports that 46% of respondents viewed Obama as the candidate for the White House better able to strengthen public education, compared with 29% for McCain. Twenty-five percent of respondents said they didn’t know which candidate would be better able to handle school policy.

The survey also showed that only a small proportion of Americans—16%—want to see the No Child Left Behind Act, the main federal K-12 education law whose reauthorization is pending in Congress, renewed without major changes. Thirty-one percent of respondents identifying themselves as Republicans and 50% of Democrats said would like to see the law extended, but changed significantly. Read the article in Education Week online.