POLL FINDS PENNSYLVANIA BUSINESS COMMUNITY SKEPTICAL OF HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA’S GURANTEE OF JOB READINESS; STATEWIDE STANDARDS FAVORED

Pennsylvania employers are concerned about the availability of qualified workers and show a good deal of skepticism that a high school diploma alone is a guarantee of a young person’s preparedness to enter the workforce successfully, according to an independent poll conducted on behalf of one of the state’s largest business advocacy groups.  More than 80 percent – four out of five – business owners and senior managers surveyed believe that statewide education standards and uniform course-by-course final exams would have an impact on improving the quality of the workforce in Pennsylvania.

These are among the key findings of a survey of 400 Pennsylvania businesses conducted in early May by Susquehanna Polling & Research on behalf of the Pennsylvania Business Council Education Foundation.

“For many years, our organization and our members have been concerned about the quality of Pennsylvania’s workforce and the availability of qualified, skilled workers for jobs in the global, information-based economy,” reported David W. Patti, president and CEO of the Foundation’s parent Pennsylvania Business Council (PBC).  “We’ve been engaged in several efforts to develop standards that span gubernatorial administrations.  We have plenty of anecdotal evidence that employers have concerns.  This poll was undertaken, in part, to quantify those concerns and help guide the dialog to craft a solution.”

While more than 60 percent of the survey respondents rate the present quality of Pennsylvania’s workforce as good or even excellent, very few think it has improved in recent years, according to the survey and one-third think it has gotten worse.  “Even more troubling,” commented Patti, “is that only seven percent of all of the business owners and managers surveyed say they are ‘very confident’ that high school students are graduating with the necessary knowledge and skills.”

Patti said he has heard for many years that employers are re-teaching math and language arts skills to new hires, and his members are well aware that Pennsylvania’s community colleges and four-year institutions are over-enrolled for their remedial classes.  More than two-thirds of the poll respondents said they receive applications from job-seekers who lack the skills and/or knowledge necessary for the position and about half of the managers surveyed reported their companies lose significant or moderate amounts of productivity by having to train or retrain workers on basic skills.

Under the Bush Administration’s “No Child Left Behind Act,” Pennsylvania – and all states – was mandated to implement new programs and periodic tests with the goal of making students proficient in math and reading by 2014.  Known as the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment or PSSA exams, the tests are administered in a single week-long battery of exams during the 8^th and 11^th grades.  The federal law pushes all states to make “adequate yearly progress.”  “There is good and bad elements of “No Child Left Behind,” said Patti.  “But it’s the current federal law.  Meanwhile, Pennsylvania still isn’t getting what it needs out of our education system.”

Patti reported that many of his members – and probably many Pennsylvanians – were shocked by a study completed in the last few years showing that less than half of Pennsylvania’s 11^th graders scored at proficient levels on PSSA exams.  “The deeply, deeply troubling part of this,” said Patti, “is that we know the vast majority of high school students receive a diploma at the end of their 12 years.  If less than half are proficient at math and reading, what does that diploma really mean?”  Some school districts require proficiency on PSSA exams for graduation, but there is not state mandate to do so.  Some use their own in-house exams.  Patti said simply, “It gives us pause when we think about making a hiring decision.  It must be chilling news to a firm thinking about expanding or relocating in Pennsylvania.”

The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has proposed a series of standardized final exams that would be administered at the end of each course of study in core subject areas, such as math, reading, writing, sciences, and social studies.  The exams would not be a one-time graduate/don’t graduate exit exam, but a course-by-course assessment of whether a student has achieved competency in critical subject matter.

Patti acknowledged the proposal has been politically contentious.  “We hope this objective research will help to provide independent, third-party data that can be used by all parties to assess the situation fairly and be used to find solutions that will actually improve our educational attainment in a viable and politically sensitive manner.”

“The focus has been on the tests,” said Patti.  “But the exams are only a way to measure success.  The real focus should be a commitment to ensuring that all Pennsylvania children master the basic skills and knowledge they will need for a lifetime of learning and work.”

Patti also stressed that the polling results are not an indictment of teachers or school administrators.  In part, he thinks, it’s a realization of global economic pressures that stress knowledge.  “This poll does not tell us that businesspersons are attacking local control of school curricula or learning,” said Patti.  “But I think most businesspersons also believe ‘Algebra I is Algebra I whether you live and work in Philadelphia or Erie.  If, 10 – X = 7; then X = 3.’  ‘The Battle of Gettysburg was fought in July 1863.’  These are non-debatable facts and it’s acceptable to demand that all students master these facts and methods.  I think the business community believes we spend billions of tax dollars on education.  More money is not the answer.  We need uniform standards and accountability.”

Interestingly, other polling research done previously showed that most Pennsylvanians believe the Commonwealth already has a statewide graduation standard in place.

Patti said pollsters were asked to explain the development of statewide standards and end-of-course exams proposal in as unbiased a manner as possible and then ask survey respondents whether they support or oppose the proposal.  According to the survey, 63 percent of those polled said they “strongly support” the proposal, 17 percent said they “somewhat support” the proposal, 3 percent said they “somewhat oppose” the proposal, and only 9 percent said they “strongly opposed” the proposal.  “The numbers are pretty overwhelming,” commented Patti, “80 percent of business managers surveyed support the proposal and this is consistent in every region of the state, across all sectors of the economy, and with employers of all sizes.”

The poll results find that business managers are even more favorably disposed toward the proposals when told:

• Taxpayers already spend millions of dollars on remedial courses at Pennsylvania universities.
• Pennsylvania currently does not have uniform statewide graduation standards.
• The current proficiency rate on the PSSA exams is below half.
• Remedial courses and a re-test would be required of students who don’t pass the new exams.

Patti said the poll results do not diminish the legitimacy of concerns raised by lawmakers, school boards, teachers, and parents.  “A transparent and open political process is the best way to bring people together,” said Patti.  “In all matters of public policy, we seek to promote a civil discussion and a collaborative process.”  Patti said many school boards and their advocates have begun embracing the proposal as constructive compromises have improved upon the original concept and addressed implementation issues.

Patti said his organization will share the poll results and promote discussions within the business community.  To review the full poll results click here.  This data is made available so that policymakers and other interest groups can use the material as part of their own deliberations.