The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) released today the results from a statewide public opinion poll focused on voter perceptions of Tennessee’s work to raise academic expectations through the Common Core State Standards. The survey, commissioned by SCORE and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research, was conducted on May 6-7 & 9, 2013. Trend data from the survey build on a similar statewide survey released by SCORE in the fall of 2012.

“High academic standards are a critical piece of Tennessee’s work to improve student achievement,” said Jamie Woodson, President and CEO of SCORE. “These results show that citizen awareness of Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards is increasing and that there is solid support for the implementation of these higher standards across the partisan and ideological spectrum.”

Key findings from the survey include:

  • There is strong support for implementing Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards. After hearing a brief description of the CCSS, more than three-quarters of voters support implementation, with more than four-in-ten saying they “strongly” favor it. That finding is similar to last year’s survey.
  • The standards garner majority support regardless of gender, age, ethnicity, education level, parental status, region of the state, or political affiliation.
  • There is strong support for the Common Core State Standards across the partisan and ideological spectrum.
  • Voter awareness about Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards has grown since last September, and initial impressions are more positive than negative.
  • Roughly one-third of voters (34%) now say they have heard “a lot” or “some” about the Common Core State Standards.
  • Fully half (50%) of those who are at least aware of Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards say they have a favorable impression of them based on what they have seen, read, or heard — consistent with last year’s forty-nine percent (49%).

A detailed memo on the survey and the numbers it reports is available here: http://www.tnscore.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/TNScoreMemoFin-May-2013.pdf

Tennessee’s Common Core State Standards are a set of higher expectations in math and English Language Arts that were developed by state leaders to ensure that every student graduates high school prepared for postsecondary education or the workforce. These new standards are replacing Tennessee’s old set of expectations for students in math and English Language Arts. For more information about the Common Core State Standards visit www.expectmoretn.org.

The State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE) collaboratively supports Tennessee’s work to prepare students for college and the workforce. We are an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan advocacy and research institution, founded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.