State of the Schools
Overall, Ohio's citizens gave Ohio public schools a grade of C+. Ohioans are divided as to whether they feel the schools are on the right or wrong track, with 50% optimistic about the direction of Ohio's public schools, 39% pessimistic, and 10 % unsure. In contrast, Ohioans were more favorable in regard to their local public schools, which, as in 2000-01, received about a B. Sixty-two percent were optimistic about the future direction of their local public schools, 29% pessimistic, and 9% unsure.

Urban school districts face significant challenges to reach a point where graduation rates, currently at 59.6%, approach the state average of 80.4 %. Ohioans recognize that urban school districts' graduation rates are lower than the state average, but Ohioans underestimate the extent of the challenge-respondents estimate urban graduation rates to be approximately 66.4 %, on average. In reality, graduation rates in Ohio's 21 urban districts average 59.6%. Graduation rates at Ohio's "Big 8" urban school districts average 53.9%, ranging from a high of 72.4% in Akron City Schools to a low of 33.7% in Cleveland City Schools. Ohioans, especially those in urban areas, must recognize that their involvement in local schools is important to address this significant issue.

Overwhelmingly, Ohioans favor testing in math and reading every year in grades three through eight. Although more than 80% agreed annual tests should be administered, only 52% agreed that testing is the best measure of school performance and just 44.5% agreed that testing is the best measure of teacher performance. Thus, test results may be viewed as just one component of a comprehensive solution to diagnosing and improving student performance.

Many Ohioans (47%) believe that Ohio's current academic standards are "about right," although a substantial proportion, 39%, believes current standards are "too low." Less than 10% of Ohioans surveyed believed current standards were too high.

Schools as Centers of Community
Ohioans believe that everyone in the community should be more involved with local schools, and that schools should be community resources offering programs and services beyond the traditional school hours. Although 87% agree that "everyone in the community should be more involved with local public schools," many may not be aware of volunteer opportunities. When asked what they would be willing to do to help their local schools (an open-ended question), 22% said they didn't know how they could help.

Although 80% agree up-to-date facilities contribute to better education, only 43% indicate they would support an increase in property taxes to build a new school. If the new school facility provides multipurpose facilities or a community center, support for a levy increased to 63%. Ohioans appreciate the benefits of schools as a "center for the community."

College Access and Higher Education
Persistent myths appear to be costing Ohio's high school students the opportunity to secure a higher education. On average, Ohioans overestimate the average cost of a public college or university by approximately $6,000 per year. If people do not understand the value of pursuing higher education or do not recognize available financial assistance options, they are likely to make decisions that are not in their own long-term interests. Furthermore, Ohioans may not recognize the significance of other factors in increasing college enrollment and graduation such as mentoring, academic preparation, and understanding of the application process. High school students need help from adults around them to make important decisions in pursuing higher education.

Early Childhood Education
As in 2000, survey respondents recognized the importance of literacy in early childhood. Nearly 81% believed that children who attend preschool or Head Start are better prepared when they enter first grade, and 73% were in favor of publicly-funded preschool programs for all Ohio children.

Despite a strong belief in the need for early childhood activities to stimulate literacy, however, there was less consensus regarding educational standards for child care professionals; although 59% agreed that professionals providing child care to children ages 3-5 should be required to complete at least two years of college, 35% disagreed with such a requirement.

Funding Education in Ohio
In the past five years, Ohio's legislature has increased funding for K-12 public schools-yet 53.3% of Ohioans think funding stayed the same or decreased. State spending on primary and secondary education totaled $5.1 billion in fiscal year 1997 and $7.1 billion in fiscal year 2001, an increase of 40% over the five-year period. There was also an increase in spending as a percentage of the state budget, from 35.0% in fiscal year 1997 to 37.5% in fiscal year 2001.

Knowledge matters. People who are aware of the increases in funding are less likely to believe that increased spending will directly result in improvements; people who think funding decreased or stayed the same are significantly more likely to believe that increased spending will result in improvements. Thus, those who are aware of recent increases may recognize that funding is not a singular solution. As more and more people understand the facts about funding, there may be greater pressure to demonstrate results for the investment and a need to showcase innovative approaches to improvements in education.

As additional investments are made, Ohioans believe funding should be targeted at increasing the quality of student/teacher interactions through reduced class size, improved facilities, better teaching resources, or better preparation for teachers.

DeRolph vs. the State of Ohio
On May 9, 1991, Dale R. DeRolph, on behalf of his son Nathan, filed a lawsuit, along with five school districts, against the state of Ohio stating the school funding system is unconstitutional. The lawsuit began a course of action that has resulted in three major Ohio Supreme Court decisions including the most recent (DeRolph III) on September 6, 2001, in which the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Ohio's school funding system unconstitutional, and mandating the legislature to make changes to the system. As of February 2002, a court-appointed mediator is attempting to reach a settlement or the case goes back to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Despite extensive media coverage, only 50.6% of Ohioans knew that Ohio's Supreme Court was deciding a lawsuit that could find Ohio's system of school funding to be unconstitutional and those who are aware of the case don't feel that they know very much (5.8% know "a lot" and 15.3% know "a little"). Of the people that were aware of the case, 62.9% agree that the Ohio Supreme Court needs to be involved.