Survey says...

Don't miss the results of the Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll showing that maybe Massachusetts voters are more progressive than they are credited at least on education funding:

Sixty percent of the registered voters who participated in a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll released Tuesday said they don’t believe the state is adequately funding its K-12 schools...
It’s education, however, where voters put a heavy emphasis on change. A little more than half said they’re willing to see their own school district get less in state funding if it meant low-income districts could get more. An even greater number — 58 percent — said they’re willing to pay more in state taxes to cut down on disparities within the education system.
That’s evidence there’s a “strong appetite for redistribution,” according to the poll’s director, David Paleologos.
“I think it’s the importance of the issue and it’s due to the economy,” Paleologos said of the opinions on education funding. “People view it as a valued investment into our resources.”

Maybe the assumption that everyone has to continue to "get theirs" is not as necessary as assumed?

I got another Yes on 2 poll!

super voter with a land line! 

It opened with demographic questions: male/female, voter enrollment information
Do you think the state is moving in the right direction? Yes/No
What grade would you give Mayor Walsh (of Boston)? A,B,C,D,F
What grade would you give Governor Baker? A,B,C,D,F
If you had to vote today, would you vote yes or no on lifting the cap on charter schools?
If you had to vote today, would you vote yes or no on recreational marijuana use?
How important is the economic factor of the impact of charter schools on your decision on lifting the cap? (very important, somewhat important, etc)
How important is the quality of education as an impact on your decision on lifting the cap on charter schools?
How important is the fairness factor (in equity) to you in your decision in lifting the cap on charter schools?
Which if these (above three) is the most important to your decision?
Some say that the funding system for public education must be fixed first before a cap lift is considered; how much would that impact your decision on lifting the cap on charter schools?


Isn't that last one fascinating? 

Mass parents like their schools, don't like ed reform

By a wide margin, Massachusetts parents said that they are "satisfied with the quality of the education" for their K-12, publicly educated, children (more than seven in ten).
However, the same poll (by UMass Dartmouth) found:

... less than half of respondents in the UMass poll - 42.5 percent - said they felt the state's education reform efforts, such as statewide MCAS testing, had significantly improved student performance.

Perhaps most tellingly, the spin from the DESE at the end of the article is weak, citing how widely the MCAS is seen as strong, how the scores have gone up....the proof of the pudding is in the eating, folks. The people who are eating it are Massachusetts parents and students, and they don't think it's good.