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This is sort of poor reporting. There are many inferences drawn here which are not valid from survey data and for which there is direct evidence against using better survey instruments.

For example, Martin West at Harvard has demonstrated that people drastically underestimate teacher salaries and how much is spent on education: http://educationnext.org/is-the-price-right/.

The truth is, you're asking folks who have low levels of knowledge about the day to day goings on in schools about what should be done. Perception is valuable, but not gospel.

I hope policymakers and teachers are paying attention, but not to respond in lockstep. Instead, they should respond by recognizing campaigns for change also need to be campaigns to educate the public.

For example, people tend to overestimate the fighting, violence, and gang activity in schools.

Another example-- our current political culture is in the middle of a "right" swing where calls for "personal responsibility" and individualism are high. I would argue that blaming the feds, the states, and even the administrators/districts could just as easily be interpreted as a part of the wider trend toward mistrust in government and a belief that government is ineffective, rather than a magical recognition that problems are systemic. Have you seen the political discourse on poverty at-large? Does that suggest in anyway that folks believe that major social problems have systemic causes and solutions?

For the person who posted the above comment, I'd love to know if you are a teacher or in education and if so, in what capacity. You seem to research plenty, but experience (from what you have written) seems to be lacking. I can tell you from being an educator and having training in administration that bullying and violence is not overstated in our schools. In fact, I can tell you from direct experience that it is probably not reported ENOUGH. Many times, incidents are swept under the rug to try and make the numbers for schools appear better than they are.

Regardless, based on the post above, I want to know why we're so intent on needing a place to blame? We all know that our public school system is broken, but it comes from years and years of poor fiscal policy, the shifts in the political agenda, changes in social policy and interpretations on the role of education within our society as a whole. To point the finger at groups or segments within this vast array of stakeholders is like farting in a whirlwind. As soon as you do it, it's swept away to something else. Instead, we need to work together and recognize the roles that each of us play in the spiderweb of education. Only then can we begin to fix some of the parts that are broken.

I never stated that reporting was overstated, rather that the general public tends to believe there is more violence than there truly is (irrespective of the data). How many times have you spoken to a middle class suburban adult and learned that all inner city students are criminals involved in gangs, drugs, and violent assault?

The truth is, people criminalize urban students, and that's part of the problem we have with gaining support to improve education.

If at the end of my post, you don't get the sense that I view the problems in education as systemic, you're missing my point. Also, if you think that I believe the blame game is useful, then you're also overstating based on what I said.

Blame is not necessarily a bad thing, though it certainly feels that way when you're on the receiving end, and it is most certainly bad when it is misdirected or wrong.

The number one most significant factor influencing academic achievement is the family income of the students. Those from privileged backgrounds tend to do better than poor kids. Middle class schools do better on average than working class ones.

If we really want to see improvements in educational outcomes, then we do need to blame the socioeconomic and political factors that keep families in poverty. We should blame our legislators, and their rich patrons, for giving away trillions of dollars to bail out banks and investment firms, while doing virtually nothing to bail out families who lost their homes, or to create WPA style jobs for the unemployed.