Parents like their children’s school more than they used to

by David Safier

It's a longstanding truism that parents say, "Schools are awful — except the school my child goes to, of course." But here's the weird thing. Parents seem to like their own child's school considerably more than they used to, despite the continual barrage of education bashing.

This information comes from a recent Gallup poll. Since Gallup tends to trend Republican in its responses, these figures are especially strong. In 2007, 19% of parents gave their child's school an "A" grade. In 2011, that number is up to 37% — nearly double. They give an "A" to only 14% of other local public schools, but that's up from 9% in 2007. Here's the graph.
But when you leave the local arena, parents only give 1% of the nation's schools an "A."

The poll didn't ask the questions of people who don't have children in school.

So. Either parents' perceptions of their own children's schools are way too high, or their perceptions of the nation's schools are way too low. It's gotta make you think, schools must not be the abject failures we hear about in the media. The truth, as usual, is less black and white and contains many more shades of gray.