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48 Kappan October 2014

� See more Visit pdkpoll.org to see a more visual presentation of the 2014 PDK/Gallup poll results and one that you can easily share with others through social media.

Bill Bushaw conducted two webinars on the 2014 PDK/Gallup poll results. Watch them at pdkpoll.org.

� Support the PDK/Gallup poll The PDK/Gallup poll has become one of the most respected polls about American public opinion on education because it has remained independent. For 46 years, the PDK Foundation has been the sole source of funding for the poll.

PDK would like to continue to remain independent as well as to deepen our look at various groups of Americans, especially African-American and Hispanic adults. This will add value to the poll results by allowing us to deliver more insight on American values and preferences.

We’re asking for your help in this effort. Donate today to support this independent voice by contributing to the PDK Foundation’s PDK/Gallup Poll fund. pdkpoll.org

� Join the conversation We’ll be posting PDK/Gallup poll questions on the PDK Facebook page every day during October. Hop over there, and add your voice to the conversation at Facebook/pdkintl.

PDK/Gallup poll in two parts This issue of Kappan carries only the second part of this year’s PDK/Gallup poll. You can read the entire 2014 PDK/Gallup poll by visiting pdkpoll.org.

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Comments? Like PDK at www. facebook.com/pdkintl

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WILLIAM J. BUSHAW is chief executive offi cer of PDK International, Arlington, Va. VALERIE J. CALDERON is senior education research consultant at Gallup, Omaha, Neb.

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The 46th Annual

PDK/Gallup

Poll of the Public’s

Attitudes Toward the Public Schools

• PART II

Americans say their blueprint for improving public schools includes better teacher preparation and training.

Last month, we reported that Americans were wary and skeptical about public

education initiatives that they believe were created or promoted by federal policy

makers. A majority said they didn’t support the Common Core State Standards,

an initiative that has become controversial in many state capitals. Americans said

they like their local schools, want local school boards to have more infl uence

than the federal government in deciding what schools should teach, and don’t

believe standardized tests help teachers fi gure out what to teach.

This month, in the second part of our report from the 46th annual PDK/Gallup

Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, we see some of the spe-

cifi c ways that Americans believe state governments, local districts, and schools of

education can improve teacher quality and student experiences.

By William J. Bushaw and Valerie J. Calderon

50 Kappan October 2014 Thinkstock/Fuse

America’s teachers: Their preparation and evaluation

Recognizing that teachers are at the core of the education enterprise, we continue to probe American opinion of the more than 3 million teachers who serve in U.S. classrooms. We’re particularly interested in American perceptions of teacher preparation and how teachers should be evaluated.

»FINDINGS Only 38% of Americans favor using student performance on standardized tests to evaluate teachers, with parents even less supportive (31%).

Of three reasons proposed for evaluating a teacher’s performance in the classroom, 77% of Americans said helping teachers improve their ability to teach is a very important reason for evaluating them. But fewer Americans (65%) said documenting ineffectiveness that can lead to dismissal is a very important reason to evaluate their performance, and 46% said using teacher performance to determine salaries and bonuses is very important.

More than 70% of Americans said new teachers should spend at least a year practice teaching under the guidance of a certified teacher before assuming responsibility for their own classrooms.

More than 80% of Americans said teachers should pass board certification in addition to being licensed to practice, similar to professions like medicine and law.

60% of Americans said entrance requirements into teacher preparation programs should be more rigorous.

As always, some of the findings were surprising — others were not.

For example:

Six of 10 Americans said entrance requirements into teacher preparation programs should be more rigorous.

61% of Americans opposed using student standardized test scores to evaluate teachers.

For the first time in the five years that we asked the question, American trust and confidence in teachers declined; nonetheless a majority of Americans (64%) said they trust teachers.

A majority of Americans (58%) said the curriculum used in their community’s schools needs to change.

More Americans agree than disagree that students should have shorter summer breaks and longer breaks at other times of year — akin to a year-round school scenario.

Fewer Americans than before said a college education is very important.

The 2014 PDK/Gallup Poll

Results from this study are based on a Gallup Panel tele- phone study completed by 1,001 national adults, age 18 and older. Because it is conducted annually and revisits many questions asked in prior years, the poll results track how American opinion about education changes or stays the same over time. The poll also poses new questions developed by a panel of advisers convened to identify emerging issues.

As in the past, Phi Delta Kappa reports results for every question asked in the poll and publishes all questions ex- actly as they were asked during telephone polling in May and June 2014. While we present interpretations, we en- courage readers to decide for themselves whether the re- sponses support our analysis. Please join us on Facebook (Facebook/pdkintl) or Twitter (#pdkpoll) to express your opinions.

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TABLE 4. In your opinion, how much time should a person who is preparing to become a teacher spend practicing teach- ing under the guidance of a certified teacher before assuming responsibility for his or her own class: Six weeks, six months, one year, or two years?

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Six weeks 4 7 4 3 4 Six months 23 18 27 24 21 One year 44 43 43 44 44 Two years 27 30 22 29 30 More than two years 1 2 2 0 1 Depends on the teacher 1 0 1 0 0 Don’t know/refused 0 0 1 0 0

TABLE 5. Some professions, like medicine and law, require indi- viduals to pass board certification in addition to earning a degree in order to be licensed to practice. Do you believe teachers should be required to pass board certification in addition to earning a degree?

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Yes 81 83 78 79 83 No 19 17 22 21 17

TABLE 6. Some states require that teacher evaluations include how well a teacher’s students perform on standardized tests. Do you favor or oppose this requirement?

National totals ’14 ’13 ’12 % % %

Favor 38 41 52 Oppose 61 58 47 Don’t know/refused 1 1 1

TABLE 7. In your opinion, how important is each of the following reasons for evaluating a teacher’s performance in the classroom — very important, somewhat important, not very important, not at all important? How about:

7A. Helping teachers improve their ability to teach.

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Very important 77 82 71 86 78 Somewhat important 21 16 27 13 21 Not very important 1 2 2 1 0 Not at all important 1 0 1 1 1

64% of public school parents have trust and confidence in the men and women who are teaching children in the public schools, but this percentage declined from 72% in 2013.

57% of Americans would like their child to take up teaching in the public schools as a career. This proportion was lower than when the question was last asked in 2005, when 62% supported teaching as a profession for their child.

TABLE 1. Do you have trust and confidence in the men and women who are teaching children in the public schools?

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Yes 64 64 58 70 65 No 35 33 41 27 35 Don’t know/refused 1 3 1 3 0

TABLE 2. Would you like to have a child of yours take up teach- ing in the public schools as a career?

TABLE 3. Thinking about training teachers, should the entrance requirements into college teacher preparation programs be more rigorous, less rigorous, or should they be kept the same as they are now?

Public National school National totals parents totals ’14 ’14 ’12 % % %

More rigorous 60 61 57 Less rigorous 3 3 2 Kept the same 36 34 37 Don’t know/refused 1 2 4

’14 ’05 ’90 ’83 ’72

Yes No Don’t know/refused

National totals

57 %

43 %

1 %

62 %

33 %

5 %

51 %

38 %

11 %

45 %

33 %

22 %

67 %

22 %

11 %

Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

52 Kappan October 2014

ANALYSIS

We shouldn’t be surprised that Americans want great teachers in their classrooms. They support more rigorous entrance requirements for men and women enrolling in teacher preparation programs; they believe the clinical component commonly known as student teaching should be a year long or longer; they overwhelmingly support national board certification for teachers similar to what most doctors earn in their area of specialty; and they support teacher evaluation approaches that emphasize improving professional skills.

Actually, this commonsense approach to improving teacher quality mirrors how other nations have approached the challenge for improving public education in their countries. It’s based on long-term investments in those who teach. But can these ideas be implemented in the U.S.? The answer is yes.

Raising the bar for teacher candidates — The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) is implementing new standards — including standards that address teacher candidate quality, recruitment, and selectivity. In order for a teacher preparation program to be nationally accredited, entering students must meet minimum grade point averages and demonstrate other academic abilities. Once implemented, these standards will help ensure that America’s prospective teachers will be drawn from the academic top half of our graduating high school classes.

Recruiting — A push to raise entrance requirements must be accompanied by a comprehensive nationwide teacher recruitment program starting in high school. For more than 20 years, PDK International has sponsored the Future Educators Association®, the only national program introducing the teaching profession to high school students. This year, the program was redesigned to provide school districts, in partnership with colleges and universities, an opportunity to attract outstanding high school students to teaching — students who can meet the new rigorous entrance requirements established by CAEP.

Replacing student teaching — In the September 2014 issue of Kappan magazine, Ron Thorpe, president and CEO of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, thoughtfully outlined his ideas for a

teacher residency (“Residency: Can it transform teaching the way it did medicine?”, p. 30). He proposed establishing a one-year residency program for new teachers in the U.S. Such residencies would replace student teaching and provide a more supportive and comprehensive ramp before a new teacher takes full responsibility for his or her classroom.

Board certification — National board certification for teachers is already available, and over 100,000 educators have met the demanding requirements to be a National Board Certified Teacher. This program requires applicants to demonstrate their teaching knowledge and skills and has served the profession well. It is currently under an important redesign that will make it even better in the future.

Teacher evaluation — How teachers are evaluated is an important component to teacher quality, so it’s not surprising that Americans have opinions about teacher appraisal. A plan popular among some state and federal policy makers uses student standardized test results as a significant component in evaluating teachers, in some places

comprising up to 50% of the evaluation. However, more than 60% of Americans do not support this approach, and their opposition is trending upward.

At the same time, Americans said they believe teacher evaluation should be primarily designed to help teachers improve their ability to teach. If we listen carefully to the opinions of Americans, we need to research better ways to

evaluate teachers and principals that are not overly reliant upon how students perform on standardized tests.

Upon analyzing the PDK/Gallup poll results each year, I’m always impressed by Americans’ approach to public education. Once again, Americans have identified a blueprint to support public education, and it is centered on investments in

classroom teachers. That is not a quick fix, but other countries have had success with this strategy, resulting in unmistakable gains in student achievement. Many programs designed to help teachers improve their skills already exist. We just need the determination to implement these programs that Americans support.

Investing in teachers: It’s what Americans support By William J. Bushaw

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About four of 10 Americans agree that the school year should be longer and include a shorter summer break with longer breaks at other times of the year. About three of 10 Americans support a longer school day.

Over six of 10 Americans said students should be required to participate in at least one volunteer or paid internship during high school, that students should be allowed to earn credits toward graduation from instruction they receive outside school, and that high school students should have more opportunities to earn credits through online courses.

Over half of Americans agree that all high school students should have their own computer or tablet to use at school.

Overwhelmingly (87%), Americans agree that high school students should receive more education about possible career choices. Most (77%) also feel there should be more emphasis on preparing students for career fields with better employment opportunities. Americans are somewhat less supportive of encouraging high school students to specialize in a career area during high school. Just half agree with this statement, and about half say high schools should place more emphasis on preparing all students to attend college.

7B. Using teacher performance to determine salaries or bo- nuses.

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Very important 46 43 51 41 44 Somewhat important 36 38 34 39 35 Not very important 13 15 12 16 13 Not at all important 5 4 4 4 7

7C. Documenting ineffectiveness that could lead to a teacher’s dismissal.

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Very important 65 66 75 61 62 Somewhat important 29 30 21 33 30 Not very important 5 4 4 5 6 Not at all important 1 0 1 1 1 Don’t know/refused 1 0 0 0 1

Changing America’s schools We asked several questions to tap public opinion relative to various school reform issues and opportunities. Do Ameri- cans believe public schools should change, or are they content with how they currently operate? Do they believe change is needed more at elementary schools or secondary schools (middle/junior high level and high schools)? What about the school calendar? We asked these questions to better understand American opinion but, more important, to gauge American support for change.

»FINDINGS A majority of Americans (58%) said the school curriculum used in their community needs to change, and this proportion is trending upward from when the question was asked in the past. However, parents were less enthusiastic about changing the school’s curriculum in their community.

Americans are divided on the need for their community’s elementary schools to change. Many (42%) said elementary schools are not changing quickly enough while an equal percentage said they do not need to change. The divide is less pronounced when it comes to perceptions of change in middle/junior and high schools. About half of Americans say those schools are not changing quickly enough, and about one-third say they do not need to change. Just 1 of 10 said they’re changing too quickly.

About four of 10 Americans agree that the school calendar should include a shorter summer break with longer breaks at other times of the year.

Most Americans (58%) said the school curriculum used in their community needs to change.

Americans agree (87%) that high school students should receive more education about possible career choices.

Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

54 Kappan October 2014 Thinkstock/iStock

TABLE 9. Which of the following statements best describes how you feel about the elementary schools in your community?

Public National school totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Elementary schools are not changing quickly enough. 42 44 Elementary schools are changing too quickly. 12 10 The elementary schools in my community do not need to change. 42 44 Don’t know/refused 5 2

TABLE 10. Which of the following statements best describes how you feel about the middle/junior high schools and high schools in your community?

Public National school totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Secondary schools are not changing quickly enough. 49 45 Secondary schools are changing too quickly. 14 13 The secondary schools in my community do not need to change. 32 36 Don’t know/refused 5 6

TABLE 8. Do you think the school curriculum in your community needs to be changed to meet today’s needs, or do you think it already meets today’s needs?

Students should attend school more days each year than they do now.

Students should attend school for more time each day than they do now.

Students should attend school for the same number of days with a shorter

break in the summer and longer breaks at other times of the year.

(5) (4) (3) (2) (1) STRONGLY STRONGLY AGREE DISAGREE

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL TOTALS

PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS

TABLE 11. Now, using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about public schools in this country.

2014 National totals

2014 Public school parents

2006 National totals

1982 National totals

1970 National totals

58% 38% 4%

50% 50%

47% 44% 9%

36% 42% 22%

31% 46% 23%

Needs to change Already meets needs Don’t know/refused

Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

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TABLE 12. Now, using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about public schools in this country.

70 High school students should receive

more education about possible career choices.

High school students should specialize in a career area of their choice in high

school.

High schools should place more emphasis on preparing students for career fields with more employment opportunities.

High schools should place more emphasis on preparing all students to

attend college.

(5) (4) (3) (2) (1) STRONGLY STRONGLY AGREE DISAGREE

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL TOTALS

PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS

All high school students should have their own computer or tablets to use

at school.

High school students should be allowed to earn credits toward graduation from instruction they received outside of school.

High school students should be required to participate in at least one volunteer or

paid internship during high school.

High school students should have more opportunities to earn credits through

online courses.

(5) (4) (3) (2) (1) DON’T STRONGLY STRONGLY KNOW/ AGREE DISAGREE REFUSED

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

NATIONAL TOTALS

PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS

TABLE 13. Now, using a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following statements about public schools in this country.

56 Kappan October 2014 Thinkstock/iStock

14B. Earning a B or higher grade point average on completed coursework.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Very important 44 50 Somewhat important 45 39 Not very important 9 10 Not at all important 1 2

14C. Having a mentor or adviser.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Very important 59 61 Somewhat important 37 36 Not very important 4 3 Not at all important 0 0

Is college still important?

Given the extensive media coverage about college affordability and student loan debt, we added questions from our ar- chive to determine if American opinions of the importance of attending college and college affordability have changed. We continue to ask Americans if they believe high school dropouts and graduating seniors are prepared for success after high school, whether they go on to college or directly to a career, and we asked a series of questions this year hoping to better understand which factors Americans believe are most important in helping high school students get a good job one day.

TABLE 14. Would you say each of the following factors is a very important, somewhat important, not very important, or a not at all important factor in helping a high school student get a good job one day? How about:

14A. Performing well on standardized tests, such as ACT or SAT.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Very important 24 22 Somewhat important 44 36 Not very important 23 29 Not at all important 9 14

»FINDINGS One of the more surprising findings was the declining belief that a college education today is very important. Just four years ago, 75% of Americans held that belief. Now, less than 50% said a college education is very important today.

Similarly, in 2010, 77% of parents said it was somewhat or very likely that they would be able to pay for college for their oldest child. That percentage declined to 69% this year.

On the whole, Americans are doubtful about students’ career readiness. Just 3% of Americans say a high school dropout is ready for the world of work, and just 13% say a high school grad is ready. Thirty-seven percent of Americans agree that college grads are ready for the work world, and fewer (31%) agree high school grads are ready for college.

In order of importance, Americans believe the most important factor in helping a high school student get a good job one day is: learning skills like dependability, persistence, and teamwork; having a mentor or adviser; earning a B or higher grade point average; and working on a real-world project that takes at least six months to complete. Performing well on standardized tests, such as the ACT and SAT, was rated lowest in importance for getting a good job.

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15D. Today’s high school graduate is ready for college.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

(5) Strongly agree 4 6 (4) 27 27 (3) 46 43 (2) 16 17 (1) Strongly disagree 7 7

TABLE 16. How important is a college education today?

Public National school totals parents National totals ’14 ’14 ’10 ’83 ‘78 % % % % %

Very important 43 41 75 58 36 Fairly important 48 48 21 31 46 Not too important 9 10 3 8 16 Don’t know/refused 1 1 1 3 2

TABLE 17. How likely do you think it is that you or your family will be able to pay for college for your oldest child?

Public school parents ’14 ’10 ’95 % % %

Very likely 28 36 30 Somewhat likely 41 41 39 Not too likely 12 16 17 Not at all likely 19 7 12 Don’t know/refused -- 0 2

Educating children of undocumented immigrants

Last year, we asked Americans if they favored or opposed providing free public education benefits to children of im- migrants who are in the United States illegally. Some chal- lenged this question, saying that it included two words that could affect the results. Public education was described as “free” and inclusion of the descriptor “illegally” was thought to bias responses. In order to maintain trend data, we asked exactly the same question this year that we asked last year, but this time we asked it of only half of the survey’s respon- dents, selected randomly. We then asked the other half of the sample a slightly different version of the question, eliminating the word “free” and replacing “illegally” with “undocumented.” The results of both versions of the ques- tions are important. To set the context, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that children of undocumented immigrants must be admitted to public schools in the United States.

14D. Working on a real-world project that takes at least six months to complete.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Very important 42 42 Somewhat important 42 47 Not very important 11 9 Not at all important 4 3

14E. Learning skills like dependability, persistence, and team- work.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

Very important 86 87 Somewhat important 13 10 Not very important 1 1 Not at all important 0 1

TABLE 15. Here are some questions about students and their future. On a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly disagree, please indicate your level of agreement with each of the following items.

15A. Today’s high school dropout is ready for the world of work.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

(5) Strongly agree 1 2 (4) 2 0 (3) 10 11 (2) 25 25 (1) Strongly disagree 62 62

15B. Today’s high school graduate is ready for the world of work.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

(5) Strongly agree 2 3 (4) 11 8 (3) 38 40 (2) 31 31 (1) Strongly disagree 18 17

15C. Today’s college graduate is ready for the world of work.

Public school National totals parents ’14 ’14 % %

(5) Strongly agree 5 5 (4) 32 28 (3) 36 34 (2) 19 19 (1) Strongly disagree 9 14

Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding.

58 Kappan October 2014 Thinkstock/Fuse

On the other hand, few public school parents (18%) said their children learn how to manage their finances more effectively.

About half of public school parents said they are likely to brag about their child’s school to friends or relatives who are visiting their community.

TABLE 19-23. For the following questions, please use a five-point scale, where 5 means strongly agree and 1 means strongly dis- agree. You may use any number between 1 and 5.

TABLE 19. My child has substantially higher well-being because of the school he or she attends.

Public school parents ‘14 ‘13 ‘11 % % %

(5) Strongly agree 30 33 38 (4) 29 31 32 (3) 29 24 18 (2) 5 4 8 (1) Strongly disagree 6 3 4 Don’t know/refused 1 5 0

TABLE 20. My child’s school encourages him or her to build stronger relationships with friends and family members.

Public school parents ‘14 ‘13 ‘11 % % %

(5) Strongly agree 28 32 43 (4) 29 26 25 (3) 27 27 19 (2) 10 8 8 (1) Strongly disagree 5 3 3 Don’t know/refused 1 5 2

»FINDINGS Using the original question, more Americans favor providing public education to children of undocumented immigrants than last year. About half (49%) favor providing benefits.

The alternate question that removed “free” and replaced “illegally” with “undocumented” increases American support to a majority of 56%. Support for this is stronger among Democrat and Independent voters than it is among Republicans.

TABLE 18A. Do you favor or oppose providing free public educa- tion benefits to children of immigrants who are in the United States illegally? (Half the sample)

National totals ‘14 ‘13 % %

Favor 49 44 Oppose 50 55 Don’t know/refused 1 1

TABLE 18B. Do you favor or oppose providing public educa- tion to children of immigrants who are undocumented? (Half the sample)

Public National school totals parents Rep. Dem. Ind. ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 ’14 % % % % %

Favor 56 53 27 85 61 Oppose 43 46 73 14 38 Don’t know/refused 1 1 0 1 1

The parent perspective

Public school parents are the most important partners in the education enterprise, so we always include questions specifically targeted to them. Not only do they assign high grades to schools, they compliment the schools their chil- dren attend but with important exceptions.

»FINDINGS About six of 10 American public school parents agree that their child’s school supports higher levels of well-being, and over half said their child’s school encourages their child to build strong relationships with friends and family members.

To a slightly lesser degree, public school parents agree that schools do a good job helping their child become healthier and encouraging their child to be more involved in the community.

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TABLE 24. How likely are you to brag about your child’s school to friends or relatives who are visiting your community?

Public school parents ’14 %

(5) Extremely likely 26 (4) 28 (3) 18 (2) 12 (1) Extremely unlikely 16 Don’t know/refused 1

TABLE 21. My child’s school teaches him or her to manage finances more effectively.

Public school parents ‘14 ‘13 ‘11 % % %

(5) Strongly agree 2 7 9 (4) 16 8 17 (3) 30 36 35 (2) 25 21 18 (1) Strongly disagree 25 21 16 Don’t know/refused 1 7 4

TABLE 22. My child’s school does things to help him or her become healthier.

Public school parents ‘14 ‘13 ‘11 % % %

(5) Strongly agree 20 24 33 (4) 30 32 30 (3) 29 26 23 (2) 12 10 9 (1) Strongly disagree 8 3 6 Don’t know/refused 1 6 0

TABLE 23. My child’s school encourages him or her to be more involved in the community.

Public school parents ‘14 ‘13 ‘11 % % %

(5) Strongly agree 25 27 36 (4) 26 26 28 (3) 25 25 21 (2) 15 14 8 (1) Strongly disagree 9 4 5 Don’t know/refused 1 5 2

METHODS STATEMENT Results are based on a Gallup Panel telephone study completed by 1,001 national adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 29 to June 20, 2014. All interviews were conducted in English. The Gallup Panel is a probability- based longitudinal panel of more than 60,000 U.S. adults who are selected using random-digit-dial (RDD) phone interviews that cover landline and cell phones. Address- based sampling methods are also used to recruit panel members. The Gallup Panel is not an opt-in panel, and members are not given incentives for participating. The sample for this study was weighted to be demographically representative of the U.S. adult population, using 2013 Current Population Survey figures. For results based on this sample, one can say that the maximum margin of sampling error is +/- 4.6, at the 95% confidence level. The margin of error accounts for the design effect from weighting. Margins of error are higher for subsamples. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting the survey can introduce error and bias into the findings of public opinion polls.

PDK ARCHIVE AND DATABASE The PDK/Gallup poll archive includes more than 800 questions — organized by topic — asked of Americans since the first PDK/Gallup poll in 1969. Multiple year results are available when the same question was used in subsequent polls.

PDK members can access the PDK/Gallup poll archive by logging in to PDK at www.pdkintl. org. Copies of all PDK/Gallup polls are avail- able to PDK members free at www.pdkintl. org. Nonmembers can buy previous polls for $4.95 each.