Approximately 24,000 people responded to adistrict-wide survey of D.C. Public Schools
, and people have a more positive perception of the school systemcompared to 2009 overall
, when the survey was last conducted.
Students, parents and staff answered a variety of questions about access to computers, the condition of classrooms and school safety. Some of the perceptions of those surveyed are considerably different from other numbers in the school district.
For example, overall 93 percent of children surveyed said "they attend all classes," whereas the truancy rate in DCPS is approximately 20 percent. Another statistic -- 96 percent of students said they are "confident they will graduate from high school" -- isn't reflected by DCPS numbers, which show that rate is closer to 70 percent. And according to the survey, 84 percent of parents said they are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the academic progress of their child. But this year's test results show just about 45 percent of students are reading and doing math at grade level.
The survey results show white and Asian parents and students are most likely to give their school an "A" grade. The results are flipped for staff. In general, African-American and Hispanic staff reported being most satisfied with their schools.
