M A J O R F I N D I N G S
I. Quality of Life Profile
According to several measures, most students report a good quality of life. Yet
at the same time, many students are also experiencing difficulties often unrec-
ognized by adults. For example, nearly half of students (48%) say that they are
always bored but teachers think that this describes only 21% of their students.
·
Nine in ten (91%) students say they have a lot of friends;
·
Nine in ten (89%) students say they feel safe;
·
Nine in ten (88%) students say they get along well with their parents;
·
Eight in ten (78%) students say they have been happy at school this year;
·
Nearly half (48%) of students say they are always bored;
·
One-third (33%) of students often feel sad and unhappy; and
·
Nearly two in ten (17%) students say they get into trouble a lot.
II. Preparedness Profile
Teachers get higher marks for preparing students in basic skills than in more
general life skills:
·
"A" in English (students, 47%; teachers, 37%; parents, 31%);
·
"A" in math (students, 41%; teachers, 36%; parents, 31%);
·
"A" in science (students, 40%; teachers, 36%; parents, 29%);
·
"A" in getting along with other people (students, 28%; teachers, 23%;
parents, 29%);
·
"A" in knowing about current events (students, 29%; teachers, 20%;
parents, 30%);
·
"A" in learning about different jobs and careers (students, 23%; teachers,
25%; parents, 27%);
·
"A" in being a good citizen (students, 29%; teachers, 20%; parents, 32%); and
·
"A" in knowing how to solve problems (students, 33%; teachers, 11%;
parents, 23%).
III. Responsibility Profile
The majority of parents and students each feel most responsible for a student's
getting a good education. Teachers are not of one mind, distributing the
responsibility among themselves, parents and students.
·
Two-thirds (66%) of parents feel that they are most responsible for their teen's
getting a good education, sixteen percent say that their child is most responsible
and seventeen percent say their child's teacher is most responsible.
·
Six in ten (57%) teens feel that they are most responsible for their getting a good
education, two in ten (19%), say that their parents are most responsible and two
in ten (22%) say their teachers are most responsible.
·
Three in ten (31%) teachers feel that they are most responsible for a student's
getting a good education, one-third (36%) say that the student is most respon-
sible and three in ten (30%) say the parent is most responsible.
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