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OEP administered a survey on education topics to a representative sample of 500 Arkansas parents of school-aged children that addressed a variety of education-related topics. We are so excited to share the results today!

You can find out all the details in the Survey Summary Report, or the more detailed Arkansas Education Report, but here are the big takeaways!

Arkansas parents…

• felt like their students were learning more in school in 2021-22 than in 2020-21.
• widely support Career and Technical Education.
• widely support free prekindergarten.
• strongly support programs that provide resources for school choice options.
• are divided over if schools should be allowed to teach about how racism can exist in society and its institutions or about Critical Race Theory (CRT).
• feel like schools in the state are good, but the local school that their child attends is even better.
• have differing opinions about what factors are the most important when considering a school for their child.
• have diverse perceptions of teacher salary- 50% think that teachers make a lot less than they actually do!
• feel welcome at their student’s school, are pleased with instruction and think that discipline and grading practices at their child’s school are fair.
• have high college-going expectations for their children, but don’t really want their child to become a teacher.

Parents are critically important participants in students’ education, and we hope that highlighting parent voices will inform school leaders and policymakers as they develop plans to effectively meet the needs of the people in their communities.