Salena Zito: Parents Want a Complete Overhaul of the Education System

People now believe that the larger purpose of the education system must be reconsidered in the wake COVID-19. This starts with a shift away standardized testing and college prep and a one size fits all approach to education. Instead, it will be personalized curricula, practical skills, and subject mastery.

Populace, a Massachusetts-based national think tank, released a new Purpose of Education Index survey that found a dramatic shift in how people view education and what children should get out of it.

“The findings show the K-12 educational system is wildly unresponsive to what parents and children actually want,” Todd Rose, Populace’s co-founder and CEO.

Rose said that people don’t look for anything. “better” They are searching for something fundamentally new. “They want a way out of the one-size-fits-all approach driven by standardized testing models and elite institutions making us compete in a zero-sum game and instead an educational framework geared towards individualized learning, practical skills, and preparation for a meaningful life.”

This study involved over 1,000 participants and was done with the assistance of YouGov as well as Gradient data analytics firm Gradient. The respondents were presented with 57 priorities for K-12 education. They then ranked them using conjoint analysis. This forces them to make trade-offs and reduces the distortions of social influence.

In 2020, after the pandemic began, the divide between parents and the public education system started. Many parents were in the same room with their children as they were being educated via Zoom. They began to understand more about what was being taught and why.

Parents were able to see what their children were learning, how much they were taught and what was being stressed. This gave them a glimpse into the shortcomings of the system in preparing their children for work after graduation. As parents realized how powerful teachers unions were, they had a lot more power than just curriculum control. They also controlled whether schools would be opened.

This disruption has had devastating effects. The average student lost nearly half a year of math learning and a quarter of a year in reading, according to test scores shared by the Associated Press. However, students in public schools lost twice as much in learning.

Many parents are now deciding to send their children to private schools or parochial schools instead. These schools are not controlled and remain open during the pandemic. According to Census Bureau data, the overall rate of homeschooling by parents increased from 5.4% to 11.1%.

Respondents were given 57 priorities to K-12 education. They then ranked them using conjoint analysis. This forces them into trade-off situations and reduces social influence. Pre-COVID-19 people ranked college readiness as the top priority for K-12 education. It was one of the lowest priorities in a recent survey.

The study found that 70% of respondents believe the educational system needs to change, with 21% saying almost everything should change.

Respondents indicated that they would like to see students learn practical skills, such as how to manage personal finances, make meals and schedule appointments. These skills were learned in home economics classes generations ago.

“Demonstrating basic reading, writing, and arithmetic,” “being prepared for a career,” “hav(ing) the skills to be competitive in the local job market” These are the goals of education that have been out of fashion in recent generations. But people are more interested now in bringing them right back than they were in more practical, short-term goals.

The report is a consensus that education must be fundamentally reformed. It should prepare students for adulthood, success and the workforce, but not only put them in the college pipeline.