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Highlights National Education Poll, and Honors The Nation’s Leaders in Innovation

CER Press Release
Washington, DC
October 11, 2013

The Center for Education Reform (CER) announced Wednesday the results of its recent poll on The State of Education in America at its 20th Anniversary Conference and Gala (CERat20) in Washington, DC, where pioneers were honored for their exemplary leadership and extraordinary achievement in advancing education reform.

The conference included a series of panel discussions with some of the nation’s leading experts on topics concerning the contentious relationship between schools and teacher unions, gaining allies in the legislative process, best practices in innovation and the challenges facing the movement in minority communities.

“What we learned at Wednesday’s conference really puts a rubber stamp on the poll results that we released this week,” said CER Founder and President, Jeanne Allen. “Throughout the day, from various panelists we heard a reoccuring that parents today are no different than they were 20 years ago when we started this journey. They want quality educational options in their communities, and they want them now.”

Panelists also reflected on their own experiences in developing quality educational options for students, and what needs to happen at the grassroots level to create the next generation of reformers.

Following the announcement of the poll results at the conference was a black-tie awards gala, where William J. Bennett, Yvonne Chan, Barbara Dreyer, The Gleason Family Foundation, Deborah McGriff and Michael Moe were awarded the distinguished “EdReformies” for their ongoing work on behalf of students and parents.

CER Founder and President Jeanne Allen was also honored for her years of service, advocacy and achievement in advancing innovative reform. Earlier this year, Allen announced that she was stepping aside as president effective Nov. 1.

“Since Jeanne Allen started CER in 1993, the organization has brought a unique sensibility,

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By Jeanne Allen
September 4, 2011
Huffington Post

“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts,” said the late great Daniel Patrick Moynihan. And indeed, the PDK/Gallup poll underscores the wisdom offered by the former Senior Senator from New York, no doubt in the larger public policy context of his day.

While everyone has opinions, pollsters are supposed to provide at least a baseline of data to allow someone to offer an opinion on information that he or she may or may not have known before being asked a question. The annual PDK/Gallup poll lacks much-needed context, perhaps not unintentionally, rendering its usefulness nearly meaningless.

For example:

• Asking someone about spending priorities in the absence of knowing what the nation spends on schools doesn’t really tell you what we believe about money.
• Defining online learning as a way to learn at home, rather than learning in a fully integrated online environment supported by professionals, doesn’t really inform the reader about how much we know and like the new digital learning age.
• Expecting the respondent to understand the impact unionization has had on the quality of public school education without mentioning union-supported protections relating to seniority, or performance pay, or pensions and benefits, fails to tell you what we really think about unions.

In that last example, nearly half of all Americans believe unions do more harm than good. The number might well be larger had the question provided more definition. There are dozens of such data-lacking examples contained in this year’s annual survey of Americans’ attitudes.

Therein lies a nugget of truth that is perhaps at the heart Senator Moynihan’s admonishment. If this is a world in which opinions matter but facts do not, is it any wonder we are failing to educate millions of students? There’s no shortage of opinions among Americans, even if

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