In late 2021, the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas administered a survey about education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children. The students of these parents attended traditional public schools (66%), public charter schools (10%), public magnet schools (4%), and private schools (7%). Eleven percent of parents reported that their child was homeschooled, and 2% reported that their child attended school through a virtual platform

McGee, Josh B.

McKenzie, Sarah C.

Reid, Charlene A.

English

UARK (University of Arkansas )

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Arkansas Education Reports Office for Education Policy 8-31-2022 Parent Survey 2022 Sarah C. McKenzie Josh B. McGee Charlene A. Reid Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uark.edu/oepreport  Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Elementary Education Commons, and the Secondary Education Commons  2022  parent surveyUniversity of  Arkansas Office for  Education Policy  2022  parent surveyIn late 2021, the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas administered a survey about education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children. The students of these parents attended traditional public schools (66%), public charter schools (10%), public magnet schools (4%), and private schools (7%). Eleven percent of parents reported that their child was homeschooled, and 2% reported that their child attended school through a virtual platform. We summarize their perspectives in this report. 1 Arkansas parents feel like their students were learning more in school in 2021-22 than in the prior year.59% of parents indicated their student was learning much more (29%) or more(30%) than in the 2020-21 school year.Among the 58% of parents who reported their student’s instruction was primarily in person in 2020-21, 72% reported their student was learning more or muchmore in 2021-22.Among parents whose students were not primarily receiving in-person instruction in the prior year, 48% of parents reported their student was learning more ormuch more in 2021-22.Parent perspective on increased learning in 2021-22 was consistent whether their student attended a traditional public school, a public charter school, or a private school.4  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents widely support Career and Technical Education and access to free Pre-Kindergarten. 88% of parents agreed that Career and Technical Education classes shouldbe emphasized as a viable path to employment after high school and 79% of parents agreed that Career and Technical Education classes should be connected to recognized industry credentials.81% of parents agreed that Free PreKindergarten should be available for all3- and 4-year-old children.Although support for CTE and free PreK was widespread, there was variation in support associated with respondent’s reported political affiliation.2 5  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents support programs that provide resources for school choice options.88% of parents support Arkansas’s K-12 Succeed Scholarship Programallowing students with special needs, from foster homes, or of military connected families to get a voucher (approximately $7,000) for private school tuition. This money does not reduce the funding for public schools.88% of parents support Arkansas’s K-12 tax-credit scholarshipprogram, where donations from individuals and businesses will fund private school scholarships (approximately $6,000) for lower income students (approximately $53,000 for a family of four). Donors receive a tax credit of 100% of their donation on state tax liability.3 6  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTThe widespread support for these scholarship programs did not vary much by political ideology.73% of Arkansas parents indicated that they would be likely or very likely to use oneof these scholarships to enroll a child in their household in a private school if eligibility restrictions were not a factor.Parents who were likely to use a scholarship program indicated the quality (75%) and school culture (39%) of private school as their top two reasons. Parents who were not likely to use a scholarship program indicated the top two reasons were they were not interested in sending their child to a private school (75%) and that private schools are too far away (51%).4 7  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents are divided over if schools should be allowed to teach about how racism can exist in society and its institutions or about Critical Race Theory (CRT).   Among surveyed parents, 60% agreed that schools should be allowed to teach aboutsystemic racism, but only 40% agreed that schools should be allowed to teachCritical Race Theory. Opinions varied widely by political ideology and race. 5 A relatively high percentage of respondents indicated that they were “Not Sure” about the topic: 19% of parents were not sure if schools should be allowed to teach about systemic racism and 29% of parents indicated that they were not sure if schools should be allowed to teach Critical Race Theory. 8  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents feel like schools in the state are good, but the local school that their child attends  is even better.66% of parents ranked the quality of schools in the state as Good or Excellent.Local schools received a higher percentage, with 71% of parents responding that theywere Good or Excellent. Parents felt that the school that their student was attending was the best, with 81% identifying it as Good or Excellent. There was variation byrace in the perception of the quality of schools statewide and locally, but little variation in the perception of the quality of their child’s current school.6 9  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents have differing opinions about what factors are the most important when considering a school for their child. Parents from different racial/ethnic groups ranked the most important factors when considering a school for their child differently. White parents were most likely to identify building basic skills (reading, math, etc.) as measured by standardized tests as the most important, followed by promoting good work habits and self-discipline. Black and Hispanic parents were most likely to identify promoting personal growth (self-esteem, self-knowledge, etc.), followed by encouraging academic excellence. Black parents were more likely than other groups to value preparation for post-secondary instruction, while Hispanic parents were more interested in promoting good work habits and specific moral values than other groups. 7 Parents' Most Important Factors 10  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents have diverse perspectives of teacher salary.50% of parents surveyed underestimated the average teacher salary in theirlocal district by more than $10,000. Average teacher salary in the local districts of surveyed parents was $51,700, but on average, parents estimated that the average teacher in their district earned about $43,000 each year. About 10% of parents overestimated teacher salary by more than $10,000. The rates of under- and over-estimation of teacher salary were consistent across the reported family income levels of surveyed parents. 8 50% UNDERESTIMATE teacher salary  by > $10,000 39% WITHIN  $10,000 of average  teacher salary for district 11% OVER-ESTIMATEteacher salary by > $10,000 11  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTArkansas parents feel welcome at their student’s school, are pleased with instruction and think discipline and grading practices are fair.87% of parents surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they feel welcome at theirstudent’s school, and there was no variation among parents of different races.86% of parents indicated that they trust the teachers at their student’s school, althoughthere was some variation with Hispanic parents reporting slightly lower trust (81%) and African American parents reporting higher levels of trust in the teachers (93%).81% of parents were satisfied or very satisfied with the instruction and 79% weresatisfied with the extracurricular activities at their student’s school. African American parents, however, were 3 percentage points less likely to be satisfied with instruction and extracurricular activities.88% of parents indicated that they feel grading practices at their student’s school arefair, although there was some variation among by parent race/ethnicity. Only 75% of Hispanic parents reported grading fairness, while 90% of African American parents felt that grading was fair.82% of parents indicated that they feel discipline practices at their student’s school arefair. Hispanic parents were 6 percentage points more likely to feel discipline practices at their student’s school are fair. 9 12  • PARENT SURVEY REPORTOffice for Education Policy  University of Arkansas 201 Graduate Education Building Fayetteville, AR 72701 Phone: (479) 575-3773Fax: (479) 575-3196E-mail: oep@uark.eduwww.officeforeducationpolicy.orgTwitter: @Office4EdPolicyFacebook: Office for Education PolicyMission:  The Office for Education Policy (OEP) provides relevant education  research, data, and policy analysis to support data-driven  decision-making for Arkansas PK-12 policymakers and educators. Sarah McKenzie, PhDOEP Executive Director Josh McGee, PhDOEP Associate Director Charlene Reid Research StaffDemographics:  55%  Female70%  White15%  Black/African American10%  Hispanic  5%  Other Races (Asian, Native American,  Two or more races, Other Race, Middle Eastern)The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education.The frame was constructed by stratified sampling from the full 2019 American Community Survey (ACS) 1-year sample with selection within strata by weighted sampling with replacements (using the person weights on the public use file). The matched cases were weighted to the sampling frame using propensity scores. The matched cases and the frame were combined, and a logistic regression was estimated for inclusion in the frame. The propensity score function included age, gender, race/ethnicity, years of education, and region. The propensity scores were grouped into deciles of the estimated propensity score in the frame and post stratified according to these deciles. The weights were then post-stratified on 2016 and 2020 Presidential vote choice, and a four-way stratification of gender, age (4-categories), race (4-categories), and education (4-categories), to produce the final weight. Political Party: 20% Democrat 34% Republican 28% Independent  4% Other14% Not SureAnnual Household Income: 50% Less than $50k25% Between $50k and $100k 12% More than $100k13% Declined to discloseAbout the sample n=500:

Parent Survey 2022

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Parent Survey 2022

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