Most Louisianans are unhappy with the current state of K-12 education in the state, so they tend to support charter schools and are in favor of stronger state support for pre-kindergarten programs but are divided over a voucher system. Those are the findings of the Louisiana Survey, which is annually conducted by the LSU Public Policy Research Lab. The first section of the survey was released this morning. Just 8% of respondents rated Louisiana K-12 schools as “excellent” in terms of preparing students for college, and only 6% rate the schools as “excellent” in preparing students for the workforce. Respondents in Baton Rouge and New Orleans are more likely than those elsewhere in the region to rate schools as “poor” in preparing students for the workforce or college. For example, 36% of Baton Rouge area residents and 33% of New Orleans area residents rate the schools as poor in preparing students for college, compared to only 22% in southwest Louisiana and 23% in the Northshore and Orleans suburban parishes. Similarly, 32% of Baton Rouge residents and 38% of New Orleans residents rate the schools as “poor” in preparing students for the workforce compared to 21% in the southwest parishes. The annual Louisiana Survey, sponsored by LSU’s Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs, was created to serve as a barometer of statewide public opinion. The 2012 Louisiana Survey results will be broken out into several sections in order to best disseminate its findings and will be released throughout this month and April. You can see a detailed copy of the survey results and methodology here.
Today’s poll question: What rating would you give Louisiana’s K-12 schools in terms of preparing students for college and the workforce?
