Contents

• Heeding the Voices of Consumers by M. Christine DeVita
• Executive Summary
• Finding One: What Kids Do When They’re Not in School
• Finding Two: No Particular Place to Go
• Finding Three: The Haves and the Have-Nots
• Finding Four: More Time on Task?
• Finding Five: Where Parents and Kids Differ
• Afterword
• Endnotes
• Methodology
• Complete Survey Results for Students
• Complete Survey Results for Parents
• About The Wallace Foundation and Public Agenda
• Related Public Agenda Publications

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 All Work and No Play?

Teaching Interrupted: Do Discipline Policies in Today’s Public Schools Foster the Common Good? Supported by Common Good. 60 pgs. Print Edition Price: $5.00. ISBN No. 1-889483-84-2. “I was eager to read a major report on discipline in our schools being released today by…Public Agenda, one of the most interesting and useful chroniclers of opinion inside American classrooms. It is both an intriguing and a disturbing document. The vast majority of teachers surveyed say they are often treading water in a sea of adolescent misbehavior and parental mistrust.” – The Washington Post

Rolling Up Their Sleeves: Superintendents and Principals Talk About What’s Needed to Fix Public Schools. Supported by The Wallace Foundation. 2003. 74 pgs. Print Edition Price: $10.00. ISBN No. 1-889483-83-4. “A major new study released today finds American school administrators feel red tape keeps them from raising student performance. The nationally recognized, non-partisan research organization Public Agenda says superintendents and principals have a number of concerns. Their biggest headaches are bureaucracy and the expense of complying with local, state and federal mandates.” – CNN

Stand by Me: What Teachers Really Think about Unions, Merit Pay and Other Professional Matters. Supported by The Broad Foundation, the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and The Sidney J. Weinberg, Jr. Foundation. 2003. 64 pgs. Print Edition Price: $10.00. ISBN No. 1-889483-82-6. “The research group Public Agenda consistently offers insightful studies of education, and its latest report is a winner. Stand by Me draws out teachers’ views of the policies that shape their professional lives – what they think about unions, merit pay, tenure, alternative certification, standardized testing and more.” – Scripps Howard News Service

Where We Are Now: 12 Things You Need to Know about Public Opinion and Public Schools. Supported by Washington Mutual. 2003. 35 pgs. Print Edition Price: $5. ISBN No. 1-89483-81-8. “Drawing on 10 years’ worth of surveys, focus groups and other analyses of public opinion, Public Agenda has developed a compelling analysis of current attitudes toward the nation’s schools. Although toughened standards and high-stakes tests have drawn the bulk of policymakers’ and press attention, Public Agenda’s findings demonstrate that education is influenced far more by classroom-level conditions.”– Cleveland Plain Dealer

With Diploma in Hand: Hispanic High School Seniors Talk about their Future. The report is available through its sponsor, The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. 2003. “This recent pilot study found academically qualified Latino high school students are often detoured from higher education by low expectations from teachers, poor understanding of the college admissions procedures, lack of financial assistance and little support from adults.” – The Salt Lake Tribune

A Lot Easier Said Than Done: Parents Talk about Raising Children in Today's America. Supported by State Farm Insurance Companies with additional funding from the Family Friendly Programming Forum. 2002. 54 pgs. Print Edition Price: $10.00. ISBN No. 1-889483-79-6. “Across the board, from teaching kids self-discipline to basic manners, parents give themselves very low grades, according to a new study from Public Agenda, a non-profit research organization. The unexpected findings provide a snapshot of where parents think they are falling short.” – USA Today

Aggravating Circumstances: A Status Report on Rudeness in America. Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts. 2002. 60 pgs. Print Edition Price: $10. ISBN No. 1-889483-75-3. “We Americans sometimes wonder why people in other countries don’t always think of us as being as wonderful as we seem to think we are. Well, maybe we should start by asking ourselves what we really think of our fellow Americans. Well, the research group, Public Agenda, did just that.” – Charles Osgood, CBS News “The Osgood File”

When It's Your Own Child: A Report on Special Education from the Families Who Use It. Supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Progressive Policy Institute and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation. 2002. 36 pgs. Print Edition Price: $10.00. ISBN No. 1-889483-76-1. “The poll [by Public Agenda] suggests parents feel that while teachers care and school personnel are qualified to deal with disabilities, school systems don’t offer special help to children unless families insist… The findings could affect negotiations in Congress over rules for special education programs.” – Associated Press

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