A new survey on education shows that Upstate New Yorkers are split on whether the new Common Core Learning Standards will increase student success.
The poll by Siena College and The Albany Times Union shows 50 percent of people surveyed agree the new standards will help students become more successful in the long run, while 44 percent remain unconvinced.
82 percent of those surveyed believe the implementation of the Common Core has been rushed, resulting in confusion among everyone involved and 58 percent say it is time to take a "timeout," believing that schools are testing too much and students are going to get demoralized.
When asked to rate their local schools on the job they are doing in preparing students for college, as well as helping them be good citizens with the skills they will need as adults, half of those surveyed gave their local schools either a good or excellent rating on college preparation and civics while 61 percent say schools are doing just fair or poor in getting young people ready for the workforce. Nearly all of those surveyed favor increasing the availability of vocational training in public schools.
73 percent of parents with children in public schools rate the overall quality of their teachers as either good or excellent.
And when given a list of 18 potential problems facing schools today, the three that Upstate NY residents see as most serious are lack of parental involvement, bullying, and students behaving poorly.
