Voters skeptical about college, more supportive of CTE

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It is more important for Colorado schools to prepare students for the world of work than to prepare them to attend college.

That's the opinion of more than 60% of respondents in a recent survey of educational attitudes among Colorado voters. Magellan Strategies surveyed a representative group of 1,550 registered Colorado voters in September. The survey has a margin of error of 2.5%.

Magellan Strategies has conducted regular surveys on educational attitudes for several years. This is the first time the firm has included questions about CTE and attitudes in higher education.

Respondents cited the high cost of college and questioned how helpful college is in helping graduates find employment, even though most respondents had a bachelor's degree or higher. Registered voters as a group are more educated and have higher income levels than the general population.

Magellan Strategies CEO David Flaherty said some Republicans and conservatives raised ideological concerns, such as colleges being hotbeds of “woke” thinking, but across the political spectrum, respondents questioned the value of higher education. , sometimes citing their own experiences of high student debt. and low-paying jobs. Others worried that increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems would kill jobs.

“You can feel that skepticism about the availability of a white-collar job on the other end,” Flaherty said.

Magellan's findings echo those of a national survey of Generation Z students earlier this year that also found growing skepticism among young people about the value of a four-year degree. Respondents still thought post-secondary education was important, but they were more interested in trade schools, industry certificates and two-year programs that would help them get high-paying jobs with less debt.

Flaherty said colleges should take note of the findings, especially as they prepare for a decline in enrollment. They need to control costs and show families and policymakers that education is worth the investment of time and money, she said.

The flip side is that career and technical education does very well with voters and helps offset concerns among conservative voters that schools are going in the wrong direction, Flaherty said.

Magellan found that more than half of respondents were unsure whether their local school districts offered career and technical education, but more than 86% would have a more favorable view of their school district if they were aware of such programs, which can range from auto mechanics and cosmetology to health sciences and graphic design.

The poll showed that nearly half of voters think schools are on the wrong path, and less than a third think they are on the right path. That's a worse view of education than voters had before the pandemic, but similar to more recent polls.

Among conservatives, negative opinions about schools appeared to be shaped by the national conservative media, Flaherty said, with respondents noting concerns about how schools handle gender identity and whether books in school libraries contain sexual content. Progressive voters are concerned about poor funding and what they see as conservative attacks on public education.

Compared to last year, more Colorado voters said schools would provide a better education if they had more money: 61% compared to 56% in April 2022. But nearly half of respondents said they doubted their school district local was managing its finances wisely.

When asked about their top priorities, respondents said schools should focus on attracting and retaining high-quality educators, increasing salaries to keep pace with inflation, and preparing students for the workforce.

Magellan also asked respondents how they felt about the prospect of closing schools. With lower birth rates, many Colorado school districts are serving fewer students, which in turn means less state funding. Jeffco Public Schools, the state's second-largest school district, closed 21 schools over the past two years, despite parental opposition. Others, like Denver Public Schools, have opposed widespread closures amid community backlash.

When the disadvantages of small schools, such as offering fewer services to students and less arts programming due to budget constraints, were explained to respondents, more than half said school districts should consider closing schools.

See the full survey results, including regional breakdowns, here.

chalk beat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.

Related:
Young Gen Zers pursuing non-degree careers feel prepared for the workforce
As teens reconsider college and career options, counselors try to adapt
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