The Study
Research analysts Chris Reimann, Kwanghyun Lee and Tara Donohue of the Education Policy Center at MSU report findings from the 2003 State of the State Survey that asked respondents to grade both their local schools and the state school system overall.

Findings
The May 2003 survey asked people to grade schools using the same ABCD/F scale used by Education YES! Michigan's new school accreditation system. Overall, respondents gave their local schools higher grades than they gave schools across the state. Fifty-four percent gave their local schools grades of A or B, while only 40 percent gave those grades to the state's schools as a whole. This pattern of higher grades for local schools held true in every geographic area in the state. The lowest grades came from respondents in Detroit, where fewer than one in four gave A or B grades to their local schools, and only one in five gave positive grades to the state system overall. Favorable grades (A or B) for local schools also dipped below 50 percent in the West Central region that includes Grand Rapids. State schools fared even worse in West Central Michigan, receiving favorable grades from only 27 percent of respondents there. As compared with respondents from the survey in 2001, favorable grades for local schools dropped by 24 percent in the West Central region, 12 percent in the Southwest and 16 percent in Detroit. Why the decline? The analysts provide some possible reasons. The upward swing in favorable percents in 2001 coincided with the tail end of a boom cycle in both the state and K-12 sector budgets. Also, wider implementation of school choice programs gave the public a sense that schools were beginning to respond to market forces. In 2003, circumstances were dramatically different. State and local budgets were in turmoil, and such things as lists of "failing schools" required by the No Child Left Behind Act had been released and extensively covered in the media.

What It Means To You
Why do Michigan residents rate their local schools higher than those throughout the state? Does the public's perception jibe with your view of the state's schools?

For More Information
Reimann,C.B., Lee,   Lee, K. & Donahue, T. (January 2004). "Michigan residents grade their schools: Results from the 2003 State of the State Survey." Policy Report Number 19. Education Policy Center at Michigan State University. The report can be accessed on the EPC Web site at www.epc.msu.edu.

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