Raleigh, N.C. – While the North Carolina State Board of Education works on revising its student testing methods, a majority of voters said they favor implementing one nationally recognized test, according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.
According to the live caller poll of 600 registered voters, 68 percent said they favor eliminating all state end-of-grade tests and replacing them with one nationally recognized test. Twenty-four percent of voters said they oppose it, and 7 percent said they do not know.
“Parents want a more transparent method to assess their child’s performance and growth,” said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca. “They understand that a national test allows comparison of a student and school achievement and performance to others across the country.”
Voters from all parties favor a national test as Unaffiliated voters support the idea by a 71 percent-22 percent margin along with Republicans (69 percent-26 percent). Democratic voters favor it by 67 percent-24 percent.
“Eliminating end-of-grade testing in favor of a nationally recognized test would provide parents with a more valid measurement of their child’s educational development,” added De Luca.
The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina. For more information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.
Full text of question:
“Would you favor or oppose eliminating all state end-of-grade tests and replacing them with one nationally recognized test that allows parents to compare the performance of their child with the rest of the nation?”
Strongly Favor – 47%
Somewhat Favor – 21%
Somewhat Oppose – 9%
Strongly Oppose – 15%
Don’t Know – 7%
Total Favor – 68%
Total Oppose – 24%
Click here for full results and crosstabs.
This poll of 600 registered voters in North Carolina was conducted December 15-16, 2010 by Public Opinion Strategies of Alexandria, Virginia. This survey has a margin of error of +4.0% in 95 out of 100 cases. To ensure a representative sample, interviews were conducted proportional to voter registration figures for each county in the state based on the most recent figures compiled by the State Board of Elections.
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