The public seems to get it.

Congressional Republicans last summer proposed spending $100 million in federal funds on vouchers that could be used by low-income students in "failing" schools to attend private and parochial schools. "When schools don't work, parents must have other opportunities," U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings announced at a press conference to show her support.

But whether the premise that "schools don't work" has widespread merit--and many would argue otherwise--those supposed "other opportunities" don't seem to rank very high on the public's wish list.

This is just the latest example of our nation's policymakers embracing an education policy that is not backed by the public and is unsupported by research, including studies directed by the same education commissioner and the U.S. Department of Education.

Public Understanding

We at PDK International also were busy in July, poring over the data from the latest Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes Toward the Public Schools. We were amazed, as we are every year, at the public's ability to separate myth from reality and arrive at accurate assessments of their public schools. (Visit www.pdkintl.org to view a complete report of the poll.)

When asked how to improve public education in America, seven of 10 Americans said "reform the existing public school system" rather than "find an alternative system." Spellings' public offering of other opportunities doesn't command much interest. Five of 10 Americans graded their community schools with an A or a B, and these high marks rise even higher the closer respondents are to the schools. It seems the public and particularly public school parents aren't ready to buy the notion that schools don't work.

Further, over last three years, the PDK/Gallup poll documents that the American public increasingly opposes the use of vouchers for children to attend private schools. We find ourselves wondering why the public understands this while our leaders in Washington, D.C., do not.

Added to this disconnection between policymakers and the public is the unfolding tragedy of the No Child Left Behind Act. Praiseworthy goals are encased in an implementation plan so ill-conceived that the public overwhelmingly rejects every strategy used.

Even more damning, this year six of 10 Americans say NCLB is either hurting or making no difference in their community's schools. That this reality is being ignored makes it likely that NCLB, for all its bright promise, will lead to limited gains and may actually do harm to our schools.

Just days before the voucher press conference, the U.S. Department of Education released a study it had commissioned that concluded students in public schools generally outperform their counterparts in private schools. The study, conducted by the Educational Testing Service, affirmed the findings of an earlier report highlighted in the May 2005 issue of the Phi Delta Kappan titled "A New Look at Public and Private Schools: Student Background in Mathematics Achievement" by Sarah Theule Lubienski and Christopher Lubienski.

The department not only delayed the release of its study, but it distributed the study late on a Friday afternoon, along with the added caveat that the study was of "only modest utility." In other words, the study did not support vouchers.

What To Do?

I wish the policymakers in Washington would acknowledge that the American public likes its community schools and that the key to helping our nation's schools get even better is to develop policies that build on this existing base of public support.

For example, eight of 10 Americans believe that preschool programs for children from low-income households would help them perform better in school as teenagers. Two of three Americans go even further by indicating their willingness to pay more taxes to fund preschool programs for at-risk children. So rather than offer policies like vouchers that feature "other opportunities" but are not supported by the public or by research, why can't we spend $100 million to fund high-quality preschool programs that the public supports, that research has proven effective and that address the core issue behind NCLB, the achievement gap?

There clearly is a failure in America. But it is a failure of political leadership, not of the public schools. Certainly, we need better schools, and the achievement gap is a serious threat to our society and our economy. The public understands this threat and is prepared to support change through the existing system of public schools.

The support local schools enjoy provides a sound base from which to begin that effort. But our political leaders ignore the public's desires, inflict punitive strategies on the public schools and promote alternatives that lack public support. While this approach persists, the worthy goal of meeting the educational needs of every child will remain beyond reach and too many of our children will still be left behind.

William Bushaw is executive director of PDK International, 408 N. Union Street, P.O. Box 789, Bloomington, IN 47402-0789. E-mail: [e-mail]